Asda achieves global first in reporting on sustainable seafood

Supermarket giant Asda has become the first retailer in the world to open up its books and give a full disclosure of where and how it sources wild fish. This is coupled with an assessment of the sustainability of each fishery. 

The report – Asda Wild Fisheries Annual Review 2013 - covers all source fisheries used by Asda between January 1 2013 and 31 December 2013 and is the result of a collaboration between Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the retailer.

The report names each fishery and provides practical information about location and catch methods as well as a sustainability assessment and information about eco-certifications, improvement projects and environmental impacts. 

The report is part of Asda’s commitment to ensure all of its wild seafood is responsibly sourced and sets a new benchmark for openness among companies that sell seafood. Asda has accepted that some fisheries still need work and has put plans in place to address these issues. For example, Asda has pledged that all ambient canned and pouched tuna will be either line-caught or caught using FAD-free methods by the end of 2014.

The report will become an annual publication and allow the public to judge Asda on its track record for sustainable seafood as well as finding out more about individual species. The assessment does not yet cover seafood from aquaculture (fish farming) but it is hoped this information will be included in the next report in 2015.

Commenting on the release of the report, Sarah North, head of the Oceans Campaign at Greenpeace UK, said: "Greenpeace applauds Asda for this bold display of honesty and transparency about the seafood they sell. Now Asda's customers in the UK will be armed with the information they need to choose more sustainable fish, and can follow Asda's journey as it continues to work hard to improve its seafood sourcing. We sincerely hope that other retailers in the UK and beyond now follow Asda's lead."

Blake Lee-Harwood,Strategy Director at Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, added:
“This is a milestone in corporate social responsibility regarding the oceans. Asda have taken a bold step in comprehensively disclosing where they source seafood and giving clear information about the sustainability of those fisheries. We look forward to this kind of reporting becoming an annual event and including seafood from aquaculture as well.”

You access the report here.

Picture credit: © Andrei Calangiu | Dreamstime Stock Photos