Marine Life & Conservation
High Street Restaurant and Pub Chains Rated for Seafood Sustainability
Lack of Clarity on the Menu leaves Diners in the Dark when making a Seafood Choice
A lack of information about the sources of seafood is one of the biggest barriers for diners trying to eat seafood sustainably, analysis by Fish2fork and the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) shows.
Eleven high street restaurant chains and pubs were assessed on the sustainability of the seafood that features on their menus. Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia came out top, closely followed by Harry Ramsden’s, Beefeater, Côte Brasserie and Carluccio’s. Prezzo, Wetherspoons and Itsu were at the bottom.
Researchers found that, even when high street restaurants and pubs buy seafood that is caught or produced responsibly, it can be difficult for the diner to tell which have made the effort to seek out sustainable supplies.
However, Fish2fork and MCS are delighted that high street chain restaurants and pubs are increasingly willing to switch to sustainable seafood.
The latest assessment follows the autumn 2015 project which looked at the sustainability of seafood served by 12 chains. Since then, Fish2fork and MCS have revised their scoring system, making it harder to achieve blue fish ratings.
Of 11 chain restaurants and pubs newly assessed, totalling more than 2,000 branches across the UK, just three failed to meet minimum standards of sustainability in the Fish2fork assessment criteria, which include the need to be transparent about sourcing.
“It is fantastic that some of the UK’s most popular restaurants really are making an effort to seek out sustainable sources of seafood, often as a result of engaging with Fish2fork,” said Tim Glover, managing director of Fish2fork, the online restaurant guide. “But we are troubled that it is so often difficult for diners to know how sustainable a restaurant’s seafood is. We would urge restaurants to make a greater effort to make it clear on their menus where their seafood comes from, though we recognise that it can be difficult for them to get detailed information from suppliers. Sustainability is a vital ingredient in any dish, but diners shouldn’t be left to guess whether it’s there or not.”
Head of Fisheries and Aquaculture at MCS, Samuel Stone said: “It’s brilliant to see so many high street restaurants now seeking more sustainable seafood, yet they need to bolster traceability and do more to tell their diners about the seafood they are serving. “When eating out on the high street, diners need to know they aren’t going to be consuming seafood that is red rated or listed as Endangered. Telling diners where and how seafood has been produced and using the various seafood ecolabels available is key to this.”
Eight restaurant chains surveyed over the last ten months achieved Fish2fork blue fish ratings, denoting sustainability practices that meet or exceed the minimum standard.
This marks an improvement from the 2015 Chain Restaurant project in which more than half (seven out of 12) used seafood from overfished areas of the sea or failed to be transparent about the origins of their fish and shellfish.
During the latest ratings process six of the 11 restaurants changed their sourcing practices to be more sustainable.
These included Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia which have improved their Fish2fork rating enormously over the last year. Cafe Rouge now gets a 3.5 blue fish rating and Bella Italia 3 blue fish, making them highly sustainable restaurants.
Tim Doubleday, Chief Financial Officer, Casual Dining Group which includes Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia, said: “We recognise the profound responsibility all restaurant businesses have in sourcing fish ethically and sustainably, and as such taking it extremely seriously, striving to be recognised as a leader in this area.
“In partnership with government bodies and respected organisations such as Fish2fork, we have worked hard to scrutinise our supply chain, systems and processes to categorically ensure sustainable sourcing across all our brands – Café Rouge, Bella Italia, Las Iguanas and La Tasca. We are delighted to be recognised in this way by Fish2fork and look forward to building on our partnership in the future.”
Other restaurant chains praised by Fish2fork and MCS for their level of seafood sustainability are Harry Ramsden’s, Côte Brasserie, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Carluccio’s and Eat. More restaurant chains will be assessed by Fish2fork and MCS later this year.
Transparency over the sources of king prawns and sea bass were the types of seafood used by chain restaurants giving the biggest causes of concern.
Wetherspoons and Prezzo both failed to make it clear, either on their menus or direct to Fish2fork, where their king prawns derived. Itsu has prawns on its menus but fails even to say what type are used. Similarly, Prezzo served sea bass but failed to make clear if it was farmed or wild.
A lack of transparency and information makes it impossible for the public to be sure the seafood being served is from well managed fisheries and fish farms.
Together, Fish2fork and MCS are working to ensure that all seafood eaten or traded in the UK is from well managed fisheries and fish farms that have as little impact on the marine ecosystem as possible.
The ratings:
Cafe Rouge 3.5 blue
Bella Italia 3 blue
Harry Ramsden’s 2.5 blue
Beefeater 2.5 blue
Cote Brasserie 2.5 blue
Carluccio’s 2.5 blue
Brewers Fayre 2 blue
EAT 2 blue
Wetherspoon 0.5 red
Itsu 0.5 red
Prezzo 1 red
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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