The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has named German discount grocery retailer Aldi as best British supermarket for sustainable fish.
The MSC is an international non-government organisation that sets the standard for sustainable fishing around the world providing a blue label certification, which confirms that products have been sustainably caught and can be traced back to source.
Over 20,000 seafood products worldwide currently carry the MSC blue fish label.
The MSC head of market operations Tom Middleton said: “The majority of British supermarkets are making a real investment in the future of their seafood”
“If you’re buying MSC-labelled fish or seafood in one of these top five supermarkets, you’re helping to make a positive difference to the world’s oceans.
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By GlobalData“Our league table shows that retailers are offering their customers clear labelling and the chance to make a difference, helping to protect fish stocks for our children and our grandchildren.”
In its annual survey, the MSC has found that 79% if Aldi’s seafood range is certified sustainable. The survey has also found that supermarkets are selling 60% more sustainable seafood products than two years ago.
Aldi UK managing director of buying Julie Ashfield said: “Our approach is to provide our customers with fresh, sustainably sourced fish and this is reflected in the MSC’s findings. Customers know that shopping at Aldi means they can enjoy quality, responsibly sourced products, at affordable prices.”
Sainsbury’s is in second place according to the index, with 226 MSC-certified products (76%) in its seafood range.
Lidl is third with just over 200 products (72%), followed by Waitrose (67%) and Tesco which stocks 128 certified sustainable products (48%). Marks and Spencer sustainable fish amounts only to 19% of their seafood range.
Morrisons and Iceland has been placed in the bottom with just under 5% of MSC-certified products in their range, as together with Waitrose and M&S they use a third-party independent verification, which the MSC survey does not reflect.
Waitrose Spokesperson said: “89.7% of our Waitrose seafood range is from third-party verified responsible sources. As well as wild MSC certification we use independent bodies to ensure our farmed fish is third-party certified as coming from responsible sources.”
The MSC has praised Asda for making the biggest improvement this year, including increasing its certified sustainable seafood range from 17 to 52 products amounting to 38% of its range.
Many retailers have pledged to make their seafood range 100% sustainable over the next few years according to the survey.
