- Industry project mirrors Sainsbury’s 20by20 sustainability target
- Healthy oceans are vital for the health of the planet and livelihoods
- Protecting marine ecosystems is one of the major challenges facing our planet
Sainsbury's, the largest UK retailer of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fish in the UK, from today will be supporting a sustainability plan to support England's traditional costal fisheries.
In a world first, Project Inshore, led by Seafish, the industry authority, will for the first time map all of these fisheries together and provide sustainability plans for each of them, helping to secure seafood supplies from these traditional boats for this and future generations.
The new project will use assessments based on the Marine Stewardship Council Standard for sustainable fishing to produce tailored sustainability reports for every fishery around the English coast - around 7,000 boats. These will provide a roadmap that highlights best practice and provides an independent evidence base to attract targeted investment in further scientific research.
Ally Dingwall, Aquaculture & Fisheries Manager, Sainsbury's says: "Locally caught British fish from inshore boats are the backbone of Sainsbury's fish counters, so it's important that these fisheries are well managed to ensure sustainable supplies for the future. By 2020 all of the fish we sell will be independently certified as sustainable and Project Inshore is an effective way of providing English inshore fisheries with both long term management plans and the opportunity to move forward into MSC assessment.
"Sustainable fisheries are essential if the world is to retain its primary renewable source of protein and protecting the integrity of marine ecosystems remains one of the major challenges. With this project we can join forces and not only understand the state of the fisheries but ensure stocks are being managed effectively."
- By 2020, all the fish Sainsbury's sells will be independently certified as sustainable and we'll strengthen our position as the leading retailer for sustainable seafood
- Our first MSC product, Thames Herring was launched in March 2000
- Sainsbury's is the largest retailer of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fish in the UK
- Sainsbury's has been rated Number 1 by Greenpeace for the responsible sourcing of canned tuna in 2008 and again in 2011
- Sainsbury's sells a wide selection of regionally sourced fish on its counters, including Dab, Coley, British Pollack and MSC-certified Cornish sardines
- In 2008, Sainsbury's launched its responsibly sourced salmon which is specially reared on RSPCA Freedom Food approved farms on the West Coast and Islands of Scotland
- Sainsbury's salmon feeds do not contain any artificial colourants and only fish from well managed sources are included in the diet
- Sainsbury's was awarded Seafood Retailer of the Year by the Retail Industry Awards in 2010
- All wild salmon is MSC certified
- All cod and haddock from the counters is now MSC certified
This press release is presented for your information only.
Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.
This article is for your information only and the GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW does not (necessarily) approve, endorse or recommend the product, service or company mentioned.
