Waitrose Responsible Fishing Policy Statement
Waitrose considers that the key to making any decision is to balance all available facts and to engage with NGO's (Non Government Organisations) and Conservation Groups.
For a fish to be termed "sustainable" in Waitrose it must meet the following criteria
- Be a species that is not regarded as threatened or endangered
- Be caught from a well managed fishery with scientifically based quota's
- Be caught using responsible fishing methods
- Be fully traceable from catch to consumer
Species selection
Waitrose will not list any species where there is a common consensus that it is endangered or under threat.
Species may be regarded differently in different fisheries, e.g. Icelandic Cod is recognised as sustainable , North Sea Cod is considered under threat. Waitrose does not take the existence of a legal quota or minimum landing weight as evidence of sustainability.
Waitrose does accept third party certification such as MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) as evidence of sustainability, but such schemes are currently insufficient to cover the full range of fish that Waitrose sells.
Fishery Management
Fisheries used in Waitrose must be able to demonstrate sustainable management of the stock through effective quotas based on scientific advice and stock assessments. There should be provision for zone closures to allow protection of spawning and nursery grounds.
Fishing Methods
Waitrose uses the least environmentally damaging methods it can for each species. Environmental damage may be physical (destruction of habitat) or ecological ( high by-catch or fuel consumption).
Traceability and Illegal , Unreported and Unregulated ( IUU)
Fishing
Suppliers of Waitrose fish must demonstrate a high level of traceability that eradicates illegally caught fish entering the supply chain. Waitrose regards this as an essential step in preventing what is a very damaging criminal activity that undermines conservation and causes serious economic issues.
"The supply of fully traceable, sustainable seafood is vital to the Waitrose business. In today's climate of rising consumer demand, diminishing wild fish stocks and with issues of illegally caught fish, full traceability from catch to consumer is of vital importance"
Jeremy Ryland Langley Fish Buyer, Waitrose
Aquaculture policies
Waitrose's fish buying policy supports the development of sustainable aquaculture and Waitrose is committed to securing its future by working in Partnership with the Soil Association, the MSC and their suppliers.
Waitrose sells a wide range of farmed fish from sustainable Aquaculture systems including Atlantic Salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout, warm water prawns, carp, mussels, oysters, halibut, sea bass and sea bream.
Uniquely, Waitrose does not buy any farmed seafood on the open market. Long-term working partnerships have been established between Waitrose and the farmers who supply the retailer. This allows for long-term planning and early adoption of practices that lead to improved quality and sustainability of the farming operation.
Waitrose has raised the standard of fish farming through the introduction of our Select Farm schemes focusing on high standards of animal welfare and health whilst minimising impact on the environment and delicate marine ecosystems.
Select Farm Salmon
Waitrose Select Farm Salmon sites are sited in clean, oceanic waters with strong tidal flows. Strong tidal sites keep the seabed clean and also help encourage lean and fit fish as they swim in the current, resulting in firmer flesh. Long-term working partnerships have been established between Waitrose and the farmers. This allows for long-term planning and early adoption of practices that lead to improved quality and sustainability of the farming operation.
To ensure the farm is having limited impact on the environment, submerged cameras are used to watch the fish feeding and allow the farmer to ensure minimal, if any, feed is falling on to the seabed as this can cause pollution. The farmer can stop feeding the fish when he can see that feeding is slowing up. The latest feeder designs include features that prevent any food from falling on the seabed. On a six monthly basis the farmer will arrange for a survey to be carried out on the seabed around the site to assess the richness of the environment.
When salmon farms are properly located they can actually result in an increase in other marine species including economically important ones such as prawns, clams, crabs and rockfish. Waitrose works hard with its supplier to ensure sites are situated in appropriate locations such as these.
Select Farm sites are situated far from any natural salmon rivers meaning there is no impact either from or on wild Salmon and trout populations.
Waitrose is the only retailer to have a fully integrated product range, all the salmon sold in Waitrose comes from the Select Farm scheme.
Our carefully chosen range of fish
At Waitrose we have an extensive, very carefully selected, range of fresh fish available. However there are some species of fish that we have decided not to sell. Fish not sold on the basis of sustainability and concerns over declining stocks include North Sea Atlantic cod, common skate, wild Atlantic salmon, Bluefin tuna, shark and dogfish.
Using the best fishing methods
Fishing can also affect the environment through the fishing technique and resultant physical damage, for example deep water trawling leading to physical damage of seamounts. It is for this reason that Waitrose stopped selling orange roughy, a deep water species that is caught using deep water trawling methods.
Over the past 10 years of implementing its sustainable procurement polices, Waitrose has reviewed every species sold with regard to stock levels, management and fishing methods.
Waitrose is now focused on ensuring that all its seafood is caught using the most responsible fishing methods available and is looking at other projects to increase the minimum size of its fish, reduce fuel costs and a reduction of waste.
Waitrose sources the largest range of line-caught fish in the UK and plans to continue increasing this range. Although one of these methods, long-lining, can have by catch problems, long-line vessels that catch fish for Waitrose use various methods to minimise by catch. These include, using shorter lines, fishing closer to shore, setting lines at night, streamers and buoys and bird scarers (noise) to deter seabirds, specialised hooks to avoid catching turtles, and extra weighting to ensure lines sink quickly to prevent seabirds being hooked or tangled.
Waitrose does not take any flatfish caught from beam trawlers, which are inefficient in terms of fuel consumption and potentially damaging to the marine environment. All of Waitrose fresh, frozen and added value plaice, lemon sole and dover sole are caught using a less-destructive method known as Danish seining.
Waitrose have increased the minimum weight of fresh plaice and lemon sole fillets to exclude immature fish. Quarter cut fillets from these large mature fish have replaced the small paired and sometimes tripled fillets from immature fish which are commonly used for the production of "Chunky and Large" breaded plaice and lemon sole.
"Big Fish produce many times more offspring than small ones so they are vital to sustaining healthy populations in the sea. There is little chance of recovery while most fish get taken before they have had a chance to reproduce"
Professor Callum Roberts, University of York