Greenpeace calls for all supermarkets to stop selling beam trawled seafood
One year since Greenpeace challenged the sea food industry to clean up its act by dropping destructively fished species from their shelves, a new report released today shows that major retailers in the UK are leading a revolution that is transforming the entire fishing industry.
In a Greenpeace league table released today, Marks and Spencer lead the way in sourcing sustainable seafood for the second year running, closely followed by Waitrose. Sainsbury's take third position and have adopted vigorous new measures to stop the sale of some of some of the most destructively fished species like skate.
Enormous progress has also been made by ASDA, who last year came bottom in the league table but have now taken joint 5th position because of the introduction of a new policy and a commitment to sell only sustainably managed seafood within 3 to 5 years. Somerfield and Iceland come at the bottom of this year's league table.
Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, Oliver Knowles, said, "The seafood industry in the UK is undergoing nothing short of a revolution, and it is being driven by the new standards in 'green' seafood demanded by supermarkets like Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury's. Supermarkets are in a prime position to drive forward the protection of the oceans. They should be praised for the considerable progress that they have made in the last year but even the best can do better.
Despite the enormous progress made by supermarkets over the last 12 months, a large amount of seafood remains on sale in supermarkets caught using methods highly destructive of the ocean environment. Beam trawling is one of the most destructive fishing methods currently used - it is both highly destructive of the seabed and ocean life, and is massively wasteful. Greenpeace is calling on all supermarkets to take immediate measures to ban beam trawled species from their shelves.
He added, "Beam trawling is a thoroughly destructive and wasteful way to fish for species such as plaice and sole. Because of its indiscriminate nature, up to 70% of what's caught in the net is thrown away as waste, dead or dying. Supermarkets should act without delay in clearing their shelves of seafood caught in this way and change to the less destructive fishing methods that their new policies commit them to."
In recent years supermarkets have come to dominate the fish market at the expense of local fishmongers. The total UK retail market for seafood is worth £1.8 billion a year, with nearly 90% of sales made through supermarkets. In judging the retailers' progress, Greenpeace examined if they were:
- Removing the worst by immediately beginning the process of removing the most destructively fished species from the shelves. For the few of these species with stocks that are not yet severely depleted, supermarkets must clearly specify the source and method of fishing and work to improve the sustainability
- Supporting the best by increasing the range of sustainable seafood they sell and ensuring that sustainable species are promoted effectively in store, on their websites and in their magazines
- Improving the rest by working with suppliers to source fish from only the least depleted stocks or the best aquaculture methods; working with the fishing industry and/or researchers to improve sustainability of fishing and aquaculture methods; and rejecting suppliers that refuse to change.
A poll from Seafood Choices Alliance last year showed 79% of people consider the environmental impacts of seafood to be important. (1).
Notes
There will be a photo opportunity on Thursday 5th October when Greenpeace will hold a display in Trafalgar Square of the by catch wasted by beam trawling. The event will last from 10.45 until 12.30.
For more information, background photos and video or a Press Association (PA) graphic illustrating beam trawling, contact Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255
The full report "A recipe for change: supermarkets respond to the challenge of sourcing sustainable seafood" can be downloaded here.
(1) http://www.seafoodchoices.com/newsroom/documents/EuropeResearch_Dec2005.pdf
Greenpeace is calling on retailers to:
- Immediately begin the process of removing the most destructively fished species from their shelves - those listed as being most over fished and caught using wasteful or destructive methods. For the few of these stocks that are not yet severely depleted, supermarkets must clearly specify the source and method of fishing and work to improve sustainability.
- Increase the range of sustainable seafood they sell - from stocks that are not depleted and using the most sustainable fishing methods - and ensure these sustainable species are promoted effectively in store, on their websites and in store magazines.
- Work with suppliers to source fish from only the least depleted stocks, work with fishermen and/or researchers to improve sustainability of fishing methods and reject fish from fisheries and suppliers that refuse to change.
- Improve seafood labelling by ensuring that all seafood products sold are clearly labelled so that consumers can make a more informed choice about the products they are buying. This means labelling seafood with: the common and scientific name of the species; the specific stock the seafood was caught from or the farm it was cultivated at; the fishing method used to catch it.
Researchers reviewed publicly available information on supermarkets' seafood policies - supermarkets' websites, corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, annual reviews and press statements, and surveyed the range of seafood available on supermarket shelves, fish counters and freezers. Supermarkets were then given the opportunity to update and correct any information through written comments and in meetings with Greenpeace.
