Fishing Responsibly

Waitrose only sources fish that has been responsibly caught or farmed. We risk-assess each fishery or farm against our responsible seafood policy before it is approved. Each fishery or farm is reviewed on an annual basis. 

To be termed ‘responsible’ at Waitrose, our fish must be:
 

  • A species not regarded as threatened, endangered or critically endangered; 
  • Caught using a responsible fishing method;
  • Caught from a well-managed fishery or responsible farmed aquaculture production facility;
  • Fully traceable from catch to consumer;
  • Farmed under conditions that maximise the health and wellbeing of the fish;
  • Caught from legally compliant fisheries;
  • Farmed using responsible sources of feed;
  • Independently certified to a Waitrose-recognised third-party standard or from a source engaging in improvements (such as a Fishery Improvement Project) that will help it achieve certification by the end of 2025;  
  • Caught or farmed in a manner that is socially responsible, protecting the welfare and safety of those working in the supply chain;
  • Compliant with our commitments under the Sustainable Seafood Coalition voluntary code of conduct on environmentally responsible fish and seafood sourcing. 

Waitrose suppliers must also ensure that fish are caught using methods that ensure that the associated habitat or ecosystem is maintained. This includes:
 

  • Minimising by-catch and discards of fish;
  • Avoiding capture of non-targeted species (e.g. coral, sea birds, marine mammals) to minimise discards and avoid capture of immature or undersized fish;
  • Limiting damage to surrounding habitats and ecosystems;
  • No pair trawling for pelagic fish, beam trawling or pulse trawling using electricity;
  • No inappropriate use of fish aggregation devices. For example, not in conjunction with purse seining;
  • No suppliers, at any point in the supply chain, are linked to the commercial culling of seals, walruses and other marine mammals or have an association with companies involved with such culling;
  • No suppliers, at any point in the supply chain, are linked to commercial whaling or have an association with companies involved with commercial whaling;
  • No suppliers, at any point in the supply chain, are linked to shark finning (that is, the removal of fins from a shark and then throwing the rest of the body back into the sea) or handling or usage of shark fin products;
  • No wild capture of warm-water prawns.
     

We support the introduction of marine reserves as a key tool in ensuring the ecological health of the oceans.
 

Transparency, Traceability and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing
The Partnership voluntarily discloses a list of all our wild-caught, farmed fish and shellfish sourcing via the Ocean Disclosure Project. We’re working hard to increase traceability requirements within fish supply chains supplying the Partnership. Our suppliers are working towards the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability standards: the first ever global industry standards for seafood traceability.
 

All farms, fishing vessels and other operators in our supply chains must be legally compliant. This is an essential step in preventing criminal activity that causes serious economic losses, undermines conservation efforts in fisheries and damages the food security of nations and individuals. For wild-caught fish, this includes the requirement that fish must only be sourced from fisheries that fully comply with legislation designed to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing. For aquaculture-produced seafood, this includes checks that farms supplying us have the appropriate licences to operate and are fully complying with these.
 

The Partnership is also implementing the voluntary code of practice (PAS 1550:2017). Developed collaboratively by WWF, Environmental Justice Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Oceana and seafood industry representatives, it is designed to help industry assess and mitigate the risks posed by IUU fishing in supply chains.
 

Protecting the Welfare and Safety of Those Working in the Fishing Sector
We’re committed to the human rights, safety and wellbeing of all crew. Our aim is that all British fishing vessels supplying Waitrose own-brand fish adopt the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard. This revised scheme is a vessel standard that enables commercial fishing operations to provide assurance of decent working conditions and operational best practice through independent, third-party auditing.