Factsheet

Marine.
Why It Matters.
Covering three quarters of the Earth’s surface1, oceans are home to some of the planet’s
most unique and diverse creatures. They also serve as a key source of food, with more
than three billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source of protein.
As the UKs biggest fishmonger, we have an important role to play in promoting healthy
oceans and fish stocks.

Relevant SDGs

Our Progress.
Planet Pillar

Commitments KPIs Our 2020/21 performance

Sustainably source all our wild seafood Percentage of wild-caught 63% of wild-caught seafood (tonnes) certified
by 2030 seafood (tonnes) certified
by Marine Stewardship by MSC
Council (MSC)

(1) https://www.undp.org/content/brussels/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water.html

1 Tesco PLC | Factsheet | Marine Last updated: 16 December 2021

Our Approach.
As a major retailer sourcing globally and Transform
the UK’s biggest fishmonger, Tesco has We are transforming the way fish are managed to ensure that
an important role to play in promoting each stage of the food chain is supported for the long-term.
We are driving innovation by:
healthy oceans, fish stocks and in
preserving resources for future – Working with suppliers to protect the health of target fish
generations. We work collaboratively stocks, while reducing the impact of fishing on non-target
species and the wider marine environment.
across the industry to responsibly – Encouraging sustainable feeding practices in our supply chain.
source our seafood. For example, we are currently undertaking trials of alternative
sustainable feed ingredients, such as algal oil and insect feed
Our marine strategy covers both wild and farmed fish products and how they can be incorporated into the diet of fish that
and focuses on three key areas: the health of fish stocks; impacts we sell.
on non-target species and the health of the marine ecosystem. – Promoting human rights in the fishing industry. We want to
Our Little Helps Plan ambition is to sustainably source all our wild- ensure that workers in our supply chains are treated with
caught seafood and we are making progress against that ambition. respect and are working safely by having visibility of working
We work with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and other conditions along the supply chain. We are working with suppliers
partners, including WWF, to collect data on our source fisheries, to identify and alleviate risks, such as through programmes
risk assess them, and work with our suppliers on any including Project Issara and our work with the Seafood Ethics
improvements that are needed. All our seafood sources are Action Alliance.
publicly disclosed and can be found online here.
Read about our commitment to delivering sustainable
feeding practices here.
Improve
We are improving fishing practices in our supply chain by sourcing
our fish sustainably to preserve natural ecosystems and marine Advocate
wildlife. To achieve this, we are:
To source fish sustainably, we need to play our part in supporting
– Aiming to sustainably source all our wild seafood and effective ocean governance and ensuring collective action in key
working with our suppliers to engage in Fishery Improvement areas. To achieve this, we are:
Projects (FIPs).
– Working with WWF and suppliers to advocate for the adoption
– Improving tracing systems to ensure that all our seafood can
of a Seascape approach across the wider industry to protect
be traced back to the boat that caught it. We adopt a zero-
the health of the entire marine ecosystem.
tolerance policy towards Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
(IUU) fishing. – Enhancing transparency in seafood supply chains through the
Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) by improving and expanding
– Helping to reduce ocean pollution from waste abandoned by
disclosure relating to seafood sourcing.
the fishing industry through our collaboration with Global Ghost
– Member of the Steering Committee of the Global Tuna Alliance
Gear on their ‘Fishing for Litter‘ initiative.
an independent group of retailers and supply chain companies,
working to ensure that tuna ultimately meets the highest
Read more about how we are improving our standards of environmental performance and social
sustainable fishing processes here. responsibility with a clear five year strategy in place.
– Reducing the Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR) < 1
reflected in the WWF Basket Metrics. FFDR provides an
indication of how many wild-caught fish are used to produce
farmed fish.

See how we are working with WWF to transform the

future of tuna here.

2 Tesco PLC | Factsheet | Marine Last updated: 16 December 2021

 Key highlights.
• +180 lines of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified seafood offered to our customers.
• Launched seascape approach for tuna sourcing.
• 63% of our wild seafood volumes certified by MSC.
• Took a public position on halting the sourcing of Indian Ocean tuna given concerns around sustainability of
stocks and their management.
•MSC supermarket of the year 2021

3 Year Performance.
UK data

Commitment KPIs 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

Sustainably source all wild Percentage of wild-caught seafood 72% 79% 63%
seafood (tonnes) certified by Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC)

All fish and seafood we source must meet the Tesco Marine Sustainability Requirement. In 2020/21, 63% of our wild seafood was MSC
certified. This is a reduction on previous year performance, principally driven by the industry loss of mackerel certification combined with
the reduction in the purchase of some MSC volumes for other species. We remain committed to sustainably sourcing all our wild fish and
through our memberships of the North Atlantic Pelagics Advocacy (NAPA) group we aim to help recover mackerel’s MSC certification and
thus increase the percentage of wild-caught seafood certified to MSC to back over 70% in 2021/22.

Methodologies. Looking ahead.

Going forward we are focusing on three main areas: how we can
How we measure our progress meet recognised sustainability criteria with the species in our
To track our progress in sustainably sourcing all our wild-caught portfolio who do not hold a certification yet; delivering our Tuna
seafood, we rely on the expertise and guidance of the Marine Roadmap, including doing our part to achieve an ecosystem-based
Stewardship Council (MSC) to set our KPI. A brief description of approach; and focusing on how to reduce the environmental
our methodology can be found below. footprint of aquaculture feed further, starting with salmon.

Percentage of wild-caught seafood (tonnes) certified by Marine Commitments

Stewardship Council (MSC)
– Roadmap to transition to ecosystem-based tuna fisheries
As defined by percentage (volume) of wild-caught seafood management by 2030.
(fish and shellfish) sourced for Tesco UK certified as sustainable. – Through our memberships of the North Atlantic Pelagics
To calculate this, suppliers enter data on the fisheries they use Advocacy (NAPA) group we aim to help recover mackerel’s and
monthly. Data is entered via the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership herring’s MSC certification and increase the percentage of wild-
online portal. caught seafood certified to MSC to back over 70% in 2021/22.

Target
– 100% MSC certified tuna by 2025.

Read more about our approach

More information
Our approach to Preserving Marine Habitats
Upholding Human Rights in Fishing
Joining the Ocean Disclosure Project
WWF Seascape Project
Responsible Tuna Sourcing
Marine FAQs
Policies
Seafood Policy

3 Tesco PLC | Factsheet | Marine Last updated: 16 December 2021

4 Tesco PLC | Factsheet | Marine Last updated: 16 December 2021