Retailers have hit back at claims by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) they are “falling behind” on providing certified fish to customers.
New figures released by MSC suggest Sainsbury’s stocked the largest range of MSC-accredited products (163) in 2014, followed by Waitrose at 79, while the likes of Asda, Tesco and Morrisons trailed behind, stocking just 21, 18 and eight respectively.
“It’s time for the retailers to step up to the mark,” said the MSC’s UK senior manager Toby Middleton.
However, his claims were challenged by Huw Thomas, fisheries and aquaculture manager for Morrisons, who said all fish sold at Morrisons was “responsibly sourced”, with the retailer playing a “key role” in driving better standards in the supply chain. He added Morrisons sourced fish from many fisheries that were too small to be MSC accredited.
“We assess fisheries based on a whole host of factors,” he said. “environmental sustainability is critical, but so are better working conditions for fisherman, for example, which is not included as part of an MSC assessment.”
Meanwhile, an Asda spokeswoman said it took “the sourcing of our fish very seriously” and had been commended for its sustainable fishery sourcing policies, while a Tesco spokesman said it also worked with the Sustainability Fisheries Partnership and the Sustainable Seafood Coalition in addition to the MSC.
The British Retail Consortium’s director of food and sustainability Andrew Opie warned the MSC data did “not give the full picture”.
“There are many sustainable species that are not MSC certified. So the key question is how sustainable is their whole fish offer? Our view is that it is improving when you take into account both MSC-certified fish and those species which conservationists agree are sustainable but may not be MSC certified,” he added.
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