Sainsbury's leading the way

Sustainable fish

Sainsbury' basics salmon
Sainsbury’s is making progress to ensure the most popular fish eaten now can still be enjoyed in years to come.  Our plans have been in place following claims from marine experts¹ that half of the world’s fish stocks are still at risk of depletion.

Sainsbury's is proud to be the largest UK retailer of MSC-certified sustainable fish and seafood products, with over 80 products which carry the MSC ecolabel. Our aim is to offer MSC-certified fish where it is available and where the product meets our strict quality standards. We've plans to significantly increase our certified offer in the next 12 months.

 

The ‘Big 5’ species (cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns) remain the most popular fish eaten in the UK, accounting for 80% of all fish sold every week.  Sainsbury’s is working to convert the 'Big 5' species to green rated (green rated is ‘sustainable’, red rated means 'major concern’, according to the Sainsbury’s decision tree; developed with key stakeholders within the fish industry).

This means moving cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns to 100% sustainable sources, ensuring that the fish are caught or reared with minimal impact on stocks, eco-systems, and the wider environment. 

Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the world’s leading independent certification and eco-labelling scheme for sustainable wild caught seafood. It works to promote the best environmental choice in seafood. When you see the MSC eco-label, you can be sure that you have found a product that’s been independently certified as being sustainable.

We are proud to say that Sainsbury’s is the UK’s largest retailer of MSC certified sustainable fish. We have over 75 MSC labelled fish products spanning all areas selling fish.

 

 

Sustainable Salmon - the UK’s most popular fish

Freedom food RSPCA monitored.
The first initiative to tackle the ‘Big 5’ species has seen Sainsbury’s convert its biggest-selling fish, salmon, to those reared to RSPCA standards. Sainsbury’s sells more Scottish salmon than any other supermarket accounting for 25% of all salmon sold in the UK². 

Sainsbury’s Responsibly Sourced Scottish farmed salmon is reared on farms inspected by Freedom Food to strict RSPCA welfare standards, meaning a higher level of animal welfare.  The salmon is 100% sourced from selected farms in Scotland. The farms use responsible management techniques to help protect and maintain the natural environment and only the cleanest and fastest flowing water sites have been selected.  

The fish are fed on a diet designed to protect natural resources from over fishing by ensuring all sources of wild fish used in feeds comes from well managed sources, while guaranteeing superior taste and maximum nutritional benefit.  Typically, one portion (120g) of our fresh salmon provides the recommended weekly requirement of healthy long-chain Omega-3. 

 

 

Justin King, Sainsbury’s chief executive, said: “We’ve spent the last two years encouraging customers to try different fish by offering an in-season fish every month with recipe ideas, but the fact is most of our customers like to eat the top ‘Big 5’ species, so we need to continue making them sustainable to eat as well as encouraging people to try different fish.

“We sell the most Scottish salmon out of any retailer in the UK, so focusing on this first has made a significant difference.  It's market leading because it addresses issues such as unsustainable feed and how the fish is reared.  Plus it’s regionally sourced and healthy.  But just as important is that independent tests have selected this specially grown salmon as the tastiest, and many customers wanting all of this on a budget, can buy our ‘basics responsibly sourced salmon’ without having to worry about how the fish was sourced.”

 

Alice Clark, an RSPCA Farm Animal Scientist, said: "This is a big leap forwards for salmon farmed to higher welfare standards.  The RSPCA standards for farmed salmon require appropriate space for the fish to swim in and ensure that they are handled, transported and killed humanely.  The use of growth promoters or genetic modification is not allowed.  All Freedom Food members are subject to annual assessments by specially trained assessors, random spot checks by RSPCA farm livestock officers and traceability checks are carried out on products carrying the logo from supermarket shelf back to farm.

 

 

Raw fish
Sainsbury’s cleaning up the ‘big five fish'

Salmon

  • 100% of Sainsbury’s fresh farmed Responsibly Sourced salmon is from farms approved by Freedom Food. 
  • All Sainsbury’s fresh farmed salmon is 100% Scottish, sourced from Scottish sites with the lowest environmental impact.
  • Sainsbury’s has removed all red rated species from salmon feed.
  • Sainsbury’s is working with the industry and Marine Conservation Society to convert all wild species of fish used in salmon feeds to green rated.
  • Use of anti-foulants on nets will be completely phased out by 2012, there are already a number of sites with no anti-foulants.
  • 100% of Sainsbury’s fresh wild salmon comes from MSC certified sustainable sources.
  • All Sainsbury's tinned salmon is from MSC certified sources.

 

Cod

  • All Sainsbury’s fresh and frozen cod is line caught, a responsible method which reduces environmental impact.
  • Line catching reduces by-catch by 90%, no juvenile fish are caught which protects fish stocks.
  • Fish is better quality as fish are less stressed and do not suffer from compression damage from nets.
  • Ships use less fuel to catch a tonne of fish.
  • We aim to sell only MSC certified cod by the end of 2011.

 

Haddock

  • All Sainsbury’s fresh and frozen haddock is line caught, a responsible fishing method which reduces environmental impact.
  • Sainsbury’s has converted all frozen and breaded haddock to line catching methods.
  • In June 2009, Sainsbury's became the first UK retailer to sell MSC certified fresh smoked haddock.
  • We aim to sell only MSC certified Haddock by the end of 2011.

 

Prawns

  • Sainsbury’s sources cold water prawns from the MSC certified Canadian fishery or the managed fisheries in Norway and Greenland.
  • Sainsbury’s is working closely with warm-water prawn farmers, fisheries scientists and the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation to develop feeds which achieve green rating on our sustainability rating system for farmed fish.

 

Tuna

  • Sainsbury’s was the first major retailer to move 100% of its tinned tuna to pole and line catching methods.
  • Sainsbury’s has been rated no.1 by Greenpeace for responsible sourcing of tinned tuna.
  • From January 2011 all the tuna in our sandwiches, sushi, sandwich fillers and ready meals will be caught by pole and line.
  • All of Sainsbury's fresh and frozen tuna is line caught.
  • Sainsbury’s was the first retailer to sell MSC albacore tuna in a jar.
  • Sainsbury’s is working hard with suppliers, fishermen, vessel owners and the Governments in supplier countries to make fresh and tinned tuna fully MSC certified.


 

 

Foot note:

* 1 According to the FAO (Food and Aquaculture organisation) around half of the world's fish stocks are fully exploited and nearly a quarter are over-exploited, causing concern over the ability of wild captured fisheries to increase production in order to meet the planet's growing demand for food.  In recent years, aquaculture has proven to be an increasingly important contributor to human food supplies.  The FAO state that aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sources of animal protein in the world and now supplies us with about a third of the fish which we eat.

2. Volume sales, data source: TNS Worldpanel 52 weeks to 16 May 2009.

Freedom Food is a non-profit making charity set up by the RSPCA in 1994 to improve animal welfare.  All farm animals under the Freedom Food scheme must be reared according to strict RSPCA welfare standards. These species-specific standards cover each stage of an animal or bird’s life including handling and transportation.