Asda has hit out at Greenpeace claims that its seafood sourcing policy contributes more than that of any other supermarket to the destruction of fish stocks.
The environmental pressure group claimed that Asda sold at least 13 species that are on its danger list, including swordfish, dogfish (shark) and Atlantic cod. Activists gave Asda a score of one out of 20 when rating it against four criteria related to its procurement policy and the way it merchandised fish.
Greenpeace campaigner Oliver Knowles said: “Asda did worse than we’d thought possible and fully deserves its bottom-drawer ranking. It has no public policy on the sustainability of the fish it sells.”
But an Asda spokesman said: “We’re disappointed that Greenpeace has singled us out. We’ve met them time and again recently to explain that our approach to sourcing fish is no different to that of our competitors.
“In fact, we even share the same fish supplier as Sainsbury and source from the same places around the world, yet they get a better score.”
Morrisons/Safeway, with two out of 20, and Tesco, with five, also performed poorly in the survey, said Greenpeace. Sainsbury scored 10, while M&S and Waitrose topped the table with 17 and 15 respectively.
Knowles said: “Asda and other supermarkets should take immediate action to remove the most destructively fished species from their shelves.
“Then they should follow the lead of M&S and Waitrose and start sourcing seafood from healthier stocks, caught using less harmful fishing practices.”
The environmental pressure group claimed that Asda sold at least 13 species that are on its danger list, including swordfish, dogfish (shark) and Atlantic cod. Activists gave Asda a score of one out of 20 when rating it against four criteria related to its procurement policy and the way it merchandised fish.
Greenpeace campaigner Oliver Knowles said: “Asda did worse than we’d thought possible and fully deserves its bottom-drawer ranking. It has no public policy on the sustainability of the fish it sells.”
But an Asda spokesman said: “We’re disappointed that Greenpeace has singled us out. We’ve met them time and again recently to explain that our approach to sourcing fish is no different to that of our competitors.
“In fact, we even share the same fish supplier as Sainsbury and source from the same places around the world, yet they get a better score.”
Morrisons/Safeway, with two out of 20, and Tesco, with five, also performed poorly in the survey, said Greenpeace. Sainsbury scored 10, while M&S and Waitrose topped the table with 17 and 15 respectively.
Knowles said: “Asda and other supermarkets should take immediate action to remove the most destructively fished species from their shelves.
“Then they should follow the lead of M&S and Waitrose and start sourcing seafood from healthier stocks, caught using less harmful fishing practices.”
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