A new commitment to sustainable seafood

In a bid to address the growing concern about the exploitation of global seafood resources, a responsible supermarket has committed to transforming its entire fresh, frozen and canned seafood operations by the end of 2015.

Primary source of food or income for 2,6 billion people

Said Pick n Pay’s Marketing and Sustainability Director, Bronwen Rohland, “As one of the country’s largest retailers, we cannot ignore the fact that seafood is inextricably linked to food security and that it provides the primary source of food or income for 2,6-billion people globally. As a retailer and significant role player in the seafood industry, we will help to drive positive change in fisheries by supporting and promoting sustainable seafood choices from legal and responsibly managed sources.”

Pick n Pay has committed to transforming its fresh, frozen and canned seafood operations to ensure that, by the end of 2015, it will only sell seafood products which:

• Are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for wild-caught products;
• Are certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) for farmed products, or equivalent standards:
• Are categorized as Green by World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Southern African Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI).
• Come from fisheries or farms which are engaged in credible, time-bound improvement projects

Actively engaging with WWF SASSI

Pick n Pay has been actively engaging with WWF SASSI through SASSI´s Retailer Participation Scheme since its inception and last year announced that it had signed a partnership agreement with the WWF Sustainable Fisheries Programme in a bid to support the conversation organisation’s Sustainable Fisheries Programme. The three-year partnership agreement is worth a total R6.1 million and aims to restore over-exploited fish stocks to sustainably managed levels, whilst maintaining or improving the state of other stocks, through the application of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) Management and reducing the impact of destructive fishing practices to acceptable levels. As a result of these new commitments under this partnership, Pick n Pay will become the first retailer in Africa to make this kind of a commitment to sustainability.

“This is a giant leap forward in our ongoing efforts to keep our fish stocks at healthy levels. WWF believes that corporate engagement is key to transforming markets and for adopting and promoting sector-wide shifts to sustainable development and corporate best practice. We congratulate Pick n Pay for leading the way in setting these tangible conservation goals for the retail sector. Many marine ecosystems are currently facing unprecedented threats from human activities such as fishing and climate change. Through these strong commitments, Pick n Pay will help to drive a number of positive changes on the water, both locally and globally, and become a part of the solution,” said Dr Morné du Plessis, WWF South Africa’s chief executive officer.

Through the implementation of their new commitment, Pick n Pay hopes to transform its entire fresh, frozen and canned seafood operations by the end of 2015.

Read more about their sustainable living policies by clicking on the banner below: