Posted 13 January 2011 - 07:18 PM
This is the reply I recieved today from Sir Terry at Tesco's
Dear Mrs MacDonald
Thank you for your email addressed to Sir Terry Leahy, our Chief Executive, to which I have been asked to respond.
We recognise and share global concerns about the sustainable sourcing of fish, and are committed to taking fish only from responsibly managed sources.
We have developed a robust system for evaluating fisheries, which incorporates the sustainability criteria of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) scores, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and the impact of fishing methods on the wider marine environment. This approach is currently being independently verified by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
All the canned tuna we sell is independently certified as 100% dolphin friendly. We will be progressing to 100% pole-and-line sourced tuna on our own brand canned tuna by the end of 2012, during which time we will be working to ensure that this can be achieved in a sustainable way that guarantees the quality and traceability of the product. We've been moving in this direction for some time - just recently we increased the proportion of pole-and-line to 25% of our own brand canned tuna as a step towards our goal.
We are committed to providing customers with the information they need to make better-informed purchasing decisions. Our fresh and pre-packed fish is labelled with catch method, area of catch and species name. We’re currently introducing further information on our canned tuna.
We recognise the importance of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in helping to raise standards and setting a benchmark for the industry. We support it by stocking a number of MSC-certified products:
- 17 tinned fish product lines with the MSC label, including mackerel, sardines, salmon and albacore tuna
- 14 MSC approved fresh fish lines, including Wild Alaskan smoked salmon
- 4 MSC approved frozen fish lines, including salmon, prawns and scallops
We also have strict codes of practice for farmed fish, which cover feed, welfare, environment and other critical issues. These are independently audited. We have been working with the IFFO (International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation) to develop a Responsible Supply Code that will ensure the wild fish used as feed for our farmed fish come from fisheries that are responsibly managed.
Once again, thank you for bringing your concerns to the attention of our Chief Executive.
Kind Regards
Nick Johnson
Customer Service Executive