October 6, 2006

UK supermarkets responding to calls for sustainable seafood

Not many shopping down the aisles of a supermarket would think they are shopping in a protector of the ocean, but supermarkets have earned praise from environmental group Greenpeace for selling seafood from sustainable sources. 

UK supermarkets are responding positively to calls to sell fish obtained from sustainable sources such as aquaculture instead of the traditional destructive ways of fishing, a report from environmental group Greenpeace said.

The effect is one that is now transforming the fishing industry.

A year ago, only two supermarkets sourced seafood from sustainable sources, now seven out of nine major chains do so, the report said.

Retailer Marks and Spencer made the most significant progress, followed by Waitrose, the report noted.

The seafood industry in the UK is undergoing a revolution, said the group's Oceans campaigner Oliver Knowles, adding that supermarkets are well-placed to protect the oceans.

Still, there is much seafood on sale in supermarkets caught using methods highly destructive of the ocean environment, the group said.

The group is calling on all supermarkets to ban beam-trawled species from their shelves. The group said beam trawling is an extremely destructive and wasteful fishing method as it destroys the seabed and ocean life with up to 70 percent of the catch thrown away dead and dying as bycatch.