Asda commits to sustainable fish

By James Knowles

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Overfishing Fish Norway Asda

Supermarket Asda has committed itself to selling fish from
sustainable sources, in an effort to preserve depleted fish stocks.

The commitment means that in the next three to five years Asda will only stock and sell fish that come from fisheries that meet the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) independent environmental standard for sustainable and well managed fisheries.

This represents yet another environmental commitment from Asda, appealing to ever more ethical consumers. The supermarket is now calling for the North Sea to be declared a marine conservation zone in order to preserve existing fish stocks for local fishing communities.

The food retailer believes that commercial fishing in the North Sea should be limited to local fisherman who depend on fishing for their sole income and who use recognized sustainable fishing practices.

As part of its campaign for sustainable fishing Asda has now stopped selling swordfish, shark, skate wings, ling, huss (dog fish) and Dover sole.

Asda has currently suspended the sale of North Sea cod while it works closely with the EU and the North Sea regional Advisory Committee in order to formulate stock recoveries for the species. Scottish caught haddock will remain on shelves in all Scottish stores.

The food retailer has also committed itself to a number of other government programs aiming at tackling environmental issues. These include the governments 'Waste Resources Action Plan' (WRAP), the Climate Change Levvy (CCL), and it has also joined the roundtable on sustainable palm oil.

Asda announced last week that its store at Canford Heath Dorset, would be its first supermarket to recycle all of its waste. Last year it opened four purpose built recycling facilities at a cost of £32m (€47) in Lutterworth, Wakefield, Skelmersdale and Bedford. As a result it received and recycled 14,000 metric tones of cardboard and 5,500 tones of plastic packaging from store waste.

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