The Group is committed to ensuring that fresh, frozen and canned fish products do not contribute to the overexploitation, depletion or extinction of fish species.
Since 2016, and every three years, we have been assessing the conservation status of the fish species we sell (in Perishables and in Private Brand products) in all our Companies. This assessment, carried out together with the Environment, Commercial, and Quality and Sustainability teams, takes into account the threat level of the species in accordance with the Red List database of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) and the level of exploitation of fish stocks based on the evaluations carried out by the respective regional scientific bodies (for example, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea with regard to the North Atlantic Ocean).
We update our strategy whenever a new assessment identifies areas for improvement. This happened in 2020, based on the assessment carried out in 2019 that analysed more than 200 fish and shellfish species. These are our commitments:
Ban the purchase and sale of species classified as “Critically Endangered” and for which no specific extraordinary permits exist for such purpose.
Ban the purchase and sale of species classified as “Endangered” whenever they are not sourced from aquaculture and/or from sustainably managed stocks and/or do not have a sustainability certificate (e.g. MSC).
Limit promotional activities of species classified as “Vulnerable” whenever they are not sourced from aquaculture and/or from sustainably managed stocks and/or that do not have a sustainability certificate.
Regarding the species classified as “Critically Endangered”, in the analyses that we carried out, only the species European eel (Anguilla anguilla) falls into this risk category. For this reason, we stopped selling it in our stores since 2016. Although the European eel is produced from aquaculture, these production systems rely on the collection of “young” specimens (glass eels) from natural environments, which continues to pressure wild populations.
In addition, we seek to introduce new Private Brand fish references with sustainability certifications in the market. In 2020, the Group companies sold 19 product references with Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification and 16 references with Dolphin Safe certification.
Information on compliance with the Group’s Sustainable Fishing Strategy was confirmed by an external and independent entity for the Group’s 2020 Annual Report.
Read the 2020 Independent Limited Assurance Report.