Campaigners have accused UK supermarkets and seafood companies of making “misleading” claims over “responsibly sourced” scampi or langoustines.
Retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose, alongside Young’s and Whitby Seafoods, form a fishery improvement project (FIP), which looks to increase the sustainability of the UK’s langoustine industry.
However, Scottish charity Open Seas claims the five-year project is failing and will not meet its April 2024 targets, The Guardian reported.
Most langoustines are caught in a damaging method of fishing – bottom-trawling – which drags weighted fine-mesh nets across the seabed.
Open Seas’ new industry report says that this type of fishing has created “significant problems,” including a lack of vessel monitoring which poses risks to sensitive and protected seabed, and is a threat to endangered and protected marine species such as sharks and rays.
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The charity claims that the FIP has not achieved any practical improvements and third-party assessor, Fishery Progress, recently downgraded the FIP’s performance from an A to a C as it found 91% of actions were “incomplete”.
The Marine Stewardship Council, which facilitates the FIP, said a “significant” number of actions had not been meeting their targets, however added that improvements had been made.
Open Seas head of campaigns Nick Underdown said: “UK supermarkets and food companies are misleading their customers by giving the impression of sustainability and responsibility, whilst they have done very little to justify these environmental statements”.
He has called on supermarkets to stop stocking scampi until criteria is met, such as having all fishing vessels monitored, ensuring bycatch is recorded and limited to a minimum, and that vessels should not go near fish nursery and spawning areas.
A spokesperson for Whitby Foods, which is the chair of the FIP, told the newspaper it will “address Open Seas’ concerns and deliver further improvements.”
“Our record of action speaks for itself and we strongly reject any suggestion we have misled people about our commitment to this important subject.”
