Viewpoint 2/2
Tracing the supply chain of every fish sold ensures that John West continues to sell fish that is not under threat and is sourced from areas of the world where fish stocks are high.
This kind of investment doesn’t come cheaply, but we’re prepared to make this commitment because it recognises that if fish are harvested to extinction today, we’ll be out of business tomorrow. It’s not just traceability that is drawing the consumer’s attention. Catch methods are also becoming increasingly important, which is why John West launched a new range of pole and line caught tuna last year.
The range, caught by a fleet in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, bears a prominent ‘pole and line’ logo on every can showing the catch method and mak- ing it easier for consumers to buy fish that are sustainably sourced. The demand from consumers and pres- sure groups to use pole and line as the preferred catch method has forced many suppliers to evaluate how they source fish. However, the commitments made by all tuna importers in the UK to pole and line and FAD free fishing may be damaging. These methods could squeeze
the supply of small bait fish dramatically, and the running costs of thousands of smaller fishing vessels to meet the sup- ply could potentially outweigh the environmental and economic benefits of pole and line and FAD free fishing. To maintain a truly sustainable supply to demand ratio, a mixture of fishing methods has to be employed. There are hundreds of methods of fishing, including purse seining, long line, FADs and pole and line, employed by commercial organisations and domestic groups all over the world. In its role as a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), John West collaborates with other fishing organisations to find more effective ways of sourcing fish.
We believe that in the future, the best-selling product will be the most sustain- able product. This is why we employ a system to ensure that all fish purchased adhere to stringent quality, sustainability and traceability requirements. It is also why John West has committed to source at least 25% of its UK sales of tuna from pole and line by the end of 2012 and fully supports the creation of the Pacific Commons Marine Reserves and commits not to source from these areas. We’ll will also encourage and support all purse seine FAD free initiatives and ultimately source 100% of our sales of tuna from audited pole and line and/or FAD-free purse seine by the end of 2016.
The issues facing the fishing industry currently revolve around catch methods and types of fish sold. Sustainability encompasses a combination of social equity, ecological robustness and economic vitality. Consumers don’t just demand, they expect seafood suppliers to use a combination of sustainable fishing techniques to catch all their produce. Consumers expect the fishing industry to provide a fair access to livelihood, education and full participation in the political and cultural life of the community in which it works, and consumers expect fishing companies to have a lasting positive impact on those communities. We’re working towards positive action on all of these issues and will continue to strengthen efforts to effect change within the industry.
John Tomlinson is a supply chain manager with John West
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