British retailers and seafood companies have been accused of making misleading claims over “responsibly sourced” scampi or langoustines, according to campaigners, who say a five-year project to reduce the environmental impact of the £68m industry appears to be failing.
The companies, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Young’s and Whitby Seafoods – the last of which is currently the largest supplier of breaded scampi to UK pubs, restaurants and fish and chip shops – are all part of a fishery improvement project (FIP) aimed at making the UK langoustine industry more sustainable.
But the project has apparently “all but failed” and will not meet its targets when it ends in April 2024, claim Open Seas, a Scottish charity.
Langoustines (Nephrops norvegicus), also known as Dublin or Norway prawns, are small, coral coloured lobsters that live in burrows on muddy seabeds in the North Sea and north-east Atlantic. The majority are caught by bottom-trawling, a highly damaging type of fishing involving dragging weighted fine-mesh nets along the seabed.
They are prized for their succulent tails, which when covered with breadcrumbs, and sometimes mixed with other fish, are sold as scampi, a UK supermarket staple.
In its report on the UK langoustine industry, Open Seas argues that the FIP has apparently failed to achieve any practical improvements. It says the industry remains a “serious threat” to endangered, threatened or protected species, including sharks and rays, many of which are at risk of extinction. It also generates huge “bycatch” of non-target species killed as part of the fishing process but then discarded, it said.
Many vessels catching langoustines are completely unmonitored, it claims, posing risks to sensitive and protected seabed.
Seafish, a non departmental government body working with the UK industry, disputes claims the fishery creates enormous bycatch. It says that 80% of the catch in the nephrops “mixed” fishery has a commercial value and should not be described as bycatch.
Nick Underdown, head of campaigns for Open Seas, said he believes “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 said it was not acceptable for retailers to refer to ‘improvement projects’ that seemingly go on forever with no real change for the oceans.
He called on retailers to stop stocking scampi until a number of sustainability criteria are met, including that all fishing vessels are effectively monitored, bycatch is recorded and reduced to a practical minimum, and that vessels must avoid fish nursery and spawning areas.
Fishery Progress, a third-party assessor of the FIP, said that 91% of actions remained “incomplete” and recently downgraded its performance from an A to a C.
In response to Open Seas’ findings, the Marine Stewardship Council, which facilitates the Nephrops FIP, acknowledged that “a significant number of actions” were behind target, although improvements had been made.
The “political and legislative uncertainty” following Brexit had delayed progress on actions, it said.
These include management plans to determine the future sustainability of the industry and the rollout by the Scottish government of a requirement for vessels to carry remote vehicle monitoring systems to track and record the industry’s environmental footprint.
Lisa Bennett, senior fisheries outreach manager for MSC UK & Ireland, said: “As custodians of the world’s leading standard on sustainable fishing, we recognise that making improvements to sustainability within fisheries can often be a tough and lengthy process. However, improvements have been, and continue to be made through this FIP.
“We understand that a significant number of the actions in the FIP are behind target, however, we remain committed to supporting UK fisheries in making the necessary improvements required to improve and demonstrate their sustainability.”
Contacted for a response to the report, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco referred the Guardian to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Young’s referred the Guardian to the Marine Stewardship Council.
A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We’re committed to responsible sourcing and take these concerns seriously. We’re working with the fishery to help resolve outstanding actions, whilst also reviewing our other available options.”
A spokesperson for Whitby Seafoods, chair of the FIP, said: “The FIP’s recommendations will address Open Seas’ concerns and deliver further improvements too, and we hope the government will now take steps to implement them.”
“Our record of action speaks for itself and we strongly reject any suggestion we have misled people about our commitment to this important subject.”
Sophie De Salis, sustainability policy adviser at the BRC, said UK retailers were “dedicated to sourcing seafood products sustainably”.
She added: “Our members work closely with stakeholders and suppliers to regularly review fishing practices in supply chains to ensure they meet the highest standards, and are actively advocating and driving improvement to deliver the necessary change.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said that “years of uncertainty” caused by Brexit and the pandemic had “unfortunately impacted” on progress of the Nephrops FIP. They added: “We continue to engage with this industry-led project.”
