Monday 15th May, 2006
ASDA Launches Eco-Friendly 'Catch of the Day' Fish
Promotion of Sustainably Sourced Fish on All ASDA Fish Counters
Fresh fish counters in 232 ASDA stores across the country will from today (Monday 15 May 2006) start promoting sustainably sourced fish to allow customers to make more informed purchasing decisions.
The "catch of the day" promotion, the first featuring MSC certified Pacific Cod, will rotate on a monthly basis. The move is one of the first steps towards meeting a promise the retailer made earlier this year (March) to dramatically change the way it sources fish, bringing its sustainable fish policy into line with its parent company Wal-Mart.
The commitment means that within the next three to five years, ASDA will only stock wild-caught fresh and frozen fish from fisheries that meet the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) independent environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.
ASDA has already stopped selling swordfish as well as removing shark, skate wings, ling, huss (dog fish) and Dover sole from sale.
As part of its campaign the supermarket is also calling for the North Sea to be declared a marine conservation zone to preserve fish stocks for local fishing communities. It believes commercial fishing of the North Sea should be limited to local fishermen who depend on it for their sole income and who use recognised sustainable fishing practices.
It’s also suspended the sale of North Sea cod while it works closely with EU Fisheries (DG Fish) and the North Sea Regional Advisory Committee to establish a stock recovery plan for the species. It will continue to sell Scottish caught haddock in all its stores in Scotland.
Andy Bond, chief executive at ASDA said: "The 'catch of the day' initiative is proof that we are delivering on our promises. It’s great news for our customers who want to be able to make informed decisions when doing their shopping. As we’ve said before, it goes to show that low prices at ASDA don’t come at any cost.”
Notes for Editors
Over 45 fisheries around the world are now engaged in the MSC programme - certified or under assessment. This represents over 3.5 million tonnes of seafood. By major species categories, this translates into 42 per cent of the global wild salmon catch, 32 per cent of the global prime whitefish catch, such as cod, pollock and hake, and 18 per cent of the global spiny lobster catch. 15 of the fisheries engaged in the program already meet the MSC standard. Worldwide there are now more than 300 seafood products bearing the MSC eco-label in 26 countries. Together the global retail value of MSC-labelled seafood in 2004/05 was around £76m.
ASDA fish procurement
ASDA has developed sourcing policies and activities that are UK industry leading. However it will continue to evolve its position (the activity plan is below).
ASDA Fish Sourcing Policy
The methods and techniques used in the production of ASDA products are rightly examined from a variety of standpoints. The issues associated with the use of natural resources and the impact on the environment of harvesting raw materials have a direct and indirect impact on the ultimate consumer. ASDA's commitment is to offer a wide variety of sustainable seafood products to the public and to provide clear and accurate information in order to allow the customer to make informed purchasing decisions.
ASDA Fisheries Principles
Legal - Fish will only be sourced from suppliers who are able to demonstrate full compliance with national and international fisheries legislation and have systems which afford traceability of catches or harvests.
Sustainable - Sustainability is to be an assessed criterion in buying decisions based against a formal ASDA fishery rating protocol. ASDA will prioritise the use of wild caught fish species derived from certified sustainable fisheries.
Responsible - ASDA will work only with suppliers who are able to demonstrate best practice for fisheries or fish farms, and have a regard for the environmental impact of their operations.
Visible – ASDA will actively engage with all interested stakeholders in the development of clear objectives for the support and development of best practice within the fish catching and farming sectors. It will provide clear and detailed labelling information regarding the origin of fish so that the consumer can make informed purchasing decisions.
Actions
ASDA will:
- Establish a working group of suppliers to develop and progress ASDA's Fisheries Principles. At present ASDA labels fish with FAO fisheries zone e.g. North East Atlantic. It will move to labelling with nation of capture. This will be implemented by Sept 2006.
- Agree fishery rating protocol. Review current species stocked against sustainability measures – compare MSC rating with proposed ASDA protocol for all products/categories.
- Assess current and planned fish range, completed end March 06.
- Agree policy on seasonality and species substitution - introduce Catch of the Day programme - launch May 06.
- Delist swordfish, over risk to the fish stock.
- Delist North Sea cod, over the risk to the fish stock.
- Continue to sell marlin in order to support current suppliers and helping them to work towards getting their fisheries MSC approved.
- Understand the ‘sector specific’ nature of the ASDA seafood range and identify the core issues and objectives within each area. Review use of Best Practice for fisheries and potential for catching sector involvement.
- Condemn and prohibit the sourcing of fish from fisheries employing deep sea drift netting including large scale gill netting, shark fining, poison/dynamite fishing, paired trawling for sea bass.
- Require the use of bird scarers on long line vessels to be implemented by June 2007.
- Assess current range for potential MSC logo usage where not currently used - Ongoing; new products identified for autumn launch.
- Establish NPD process to challenge fish species/origin to ensure best use of MSC materials - Ongoing; new products identified for Autumn 06.
- Ensure director level endorsement of responsible procurement policy to positively engage purchasing team and shape commercial behaviour - Agreed end March 06.
- Communicate and publicise director endorsed policy decision to colleagues, advocacy groups, suppliers, trade and media - Agreed; policy and principles in public domain.
