A coalition of environmental organisations have today launched a roadmap for the Spanish seafood industry to increase responsible sourcing in its supply chain.
The coalition, which includes ClientEarth, Greenpeace, Oceana, Our Fish, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and WWF, launched 10 recommendations detailing how companies can address the growing concern about sustainability throughout the supply chain, from source to table.
They include:
- Conducting risk assessments of the environmental, legal and social issues to identify risk areas for illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fish.
- Preparing improvement plans that are quantifiable and time-bound to help businesses achieve a more sustainable supply, and evaluating them annually.
- Ensuring full transparency, with independent third-party traceability throughout the supply chain, from seafood product origin to sale.
- Complying with the law – retailers must ensure their supply chain strictly complies with all current legislation.
Sustainable seafood project coordinator Paloma Colmenarejo, from environmental law charity ClientEarth, said:
“There is growing demand for environmental and social sustainability for businesses in the supply chains of the Spanish seafood industry, but there is a lot work to be done and it is extremely urgent.”
Policy and advocacy manager Javier López, from Oceana Europe, said:
“Legal is not necessarily sustainable. To be a truly responsible supply company, besides ensuring that fish products are legal, companies must commit to environmental sustainability, and these 10 recommendations will contribute to this goal. ”
The roadmap has other recommendations for seafood sustainability, such as ensuring supplies are from well-managed, legal, fair and sustainable fisheries. The coalition urges businesses in the supply chain to ensure their suppliers also fulfil the 10 recommendations, thus improving responsibility along the entire supply chain.
The full report can be found here in both Spanish and English.
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Contacts:
- Paloma Colmenarejo, ClientEarth +34 91 123 07 43 PColmenarejo@clientearth.org
- Celia Ojeda Martínez, Greenpeace +34 638 10 17 35 celia.ojeda.martinez@greenpeace.org
- Javier López, Oceana +34 647 52 52 79 jlopez@oceana.org
- Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish +34 657 669 425 rebecca@our.fish
- Pedro Ferreiro Velasco, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership +34 679 819 344 pedro.ferreiro@sustainablefish.org
- José Luis García Varas, WWF +34 690 76 21 63 jlgvaras@wwf.es