Sustainable seafood

Sustainable seafood

Increasing demand for fish and a lack of effective management regimes have led to overfishing, leaving many global fisheries in a poor state and under threat of collapse.

Certain fishing methods are seen as potentially damaging to the environment, either through physical contact with the seabed or through the catching of endangered or threatened species and juvenile fish as bycatch (the unwanted fish that are also caught by a fishery). Healthy oceans are vital for the health of our planet and millions of livelihoods around the world. Sustainable fisheries are essential if the world is to retain its primary renewable source of protein. Protecting marine ecosystems is one of the major challenges facing our planet.

By 2020, all the fish we sell will be independently certified as sustainable and we'll strengthen our position as the leading retailer for sustainable seafood.

Read more about our commitments and progress in Sainsbury's 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan.

Sainsburys fishmonger

Visiting our cod and haddock supplier in Iceland

Icelandic fisherman

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting one the fisheries we work with in Iceland. The majority of our fresh cod and haddock are sourced from this line capture fishery in Iceland. Our Icelandic supplier, Saemark, works closely with fishing partners in 4 communities on the west coast of Iceland to deliver outstanding freshness and quality to Sainsbury’s fish counters.

By Ally Dingwall on 25 January 2012

Why we're so committed to sustainable fishing

colleague with fish

In 2010, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation reported that between 80 per cent and 85 per cent of the world's major fisheries are fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted. This is why we are so committed to sourcing our fish in a sustainable and responsible way.

By Ally Dingwall on 03 October 2011

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2 comments for “Sustainable seafood”

  • kyle russell25 April 2012 at 19:18:10

    Hi there sainsbury I am trying to find out where the fish comes and how it is caught that I buy at your supermarkets

  • Ally Dingwall03 May 2012 at 15:41:59

    Hi Kyle - at Sainsbury's, we have well developed policies and procedures in place to ensure we source fish and seafood in a responsible manner from the most sustainable sources. Every wild or farmed fish we sell has been assessed against our sustainability rating system which we introduced in 2006. This way we can track and assess stock health, management and potential environmental impacts. We are the UK’s largest retailer of MSC certified sustainable fish with over 100 products that carry the MSC logo. We have committed to only selling seafood that has been independently certified as sustainable by 2020. Roughly half of the fish we sell is from wild capture fisheries and half is from farmed sources. Five groups of species make up 80% of the fish we sell, we call them “The Big 5": 1) Salmon - RSPCA Freedom Food certified farmed Atlantic Salmon from Scotland, MSC certified wild Alaskan and Canadian Salmon; 2) tuna - line caught yellowfin tuna from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, skipjack and albacore tuna caught by pole and line from the Indian Ocean (Maldives) and the Pacific; 3) prawns - farmed warm water prawns from Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Indonesia and Thailand; 4) cod - line caught cod from Iceland and Norway; and 5) haddock - line caught haddock from Iceland and Norway.