Waitrose, Aldi and Sainsbury’s join our joint project to save dolphins
As part of our work to prevent whales and dolphins from being caught in fishing nets and gear, we have joined with three more major UK supermarkets to look at how they source the fish they sell in stores.
Sainsbury’s, Aldi, and Waitrose have now completed and published audits of their fish supply chains as part our project conducted in collaboration with Sustainable Fisheries Partnerships (SFP) and the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).
Our joint initiative aims to ensure supermarkets and food brands only sell fish and shellfish that comes from those sources that use best practices in protecting vulnerable marine wildlife. The work assesses risks posed to whales and dolphins, sharks rays, seabirds, and other marine mammals and sea turtles from capture in commercial fisheries - an issue that is commonly referred to as ‘bycatch.’
Bycatch (incidental capture in nets) is the biggest direct killer of dolphins around the globe and a huge issue in UK waters, yet many consumers are unaware of the problem.
We have now worked with six supermarkets to encourage them to collaborate with their fisheries suppliers to improve practices and prevent harm to dolphins, porpoises, whales, seabirds, sharks, and turtles. These include practical, sustainable solutions for fishers, such as changing the type of net or rope used, modifying fishing practices, or avoiding certain areas during sensitive times of the year to minimise bycatch.
Around 600,000 marine mammals are caught as bycatch annually .and so retailers must take urgent steps to identify risks in their supply chains and enforce measures to mitigate these impacts on ocean wildlife and reduce threats to marine biodiversity.
Our audits highlighted specific fisheries that pose a high risk, including Icelandic cod/haddock trawl and longline fisheries, and Canadian (American) lobster and UK brown crab pot and trap fisheries: