Greenwashing ‘Sustainable’ Salmon – how supermarkets brand themselves as “responsible” via ClientEarth!

 

 

Greenwashing 'Sustainable' Salmon – how supermarkets brand themselves as "responsible" via ClientEarth! https://t.co/aTzLjczZcp @SSC_seafood @ClientEarth @rspcaassured @ASC_aqua @SoilAssociation @GSA_Seafood @ourGSSI @ScotlandSalmon @SalmonTroutCons @Ecohustler @ASA_UK @CMAgovUK pic.twitter.com/rAWoDpGjRH

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 25, 2021

 

 

I've campaigned against salmon farming for over two decades and have written extensively on the greenwashing of toxic farmed salmon.  But it wasn't until I read a report in Which magazine last month that I began to uncover the full extent of the scam of 'sustainable' seafood.    Which magazine reported (6 October 2021):

 

 

 

 

 

Pardon my ignorance but this was the first time I'd even heard of the 'Sustainable Seafood Coalition'.  I knew that a complaint filed by Fishy Business in 2019 had forced US-owned Loch Duart to drop the use of the word 'sustainable' in their advertising of Scottish salmon but I didn't appreciate the key role of the 'Sustainable Seafood Coalition' whose members include a who's who of supermarkets and who is brokered by ClientEarth.

 

 

 

 

In July 2021, the Sustainable Seafood Coalition published a 'Strategic Plan' which advanced the vision that "all seafood sold in the UK is from sustainable sources" (a laudable goal but not one that can ever happen if farmed salmon is included):

 

 

 

 

In view of the Advertising Standards Authority's position against the use of word "sustainable" in relation to Scottish salmon, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Sustainable Seafood Coalition would therefore be supporting a supermarket boycott of farmed salmon.

 

 

 

 

 

I did some digging around the operations of the 'Sustainable Seafood Coalition' which ended up in the complaint filed last week with the Advertising Standards Authority (19 November 2021): 

 

 

The minutes of the meeting on 25 July 2011 included:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another meeting of the 'Sustainable Seafood Coalition' in June 2012 included:

 

 

 

 

 

The distinction between 'sustainable' and 'responsible' appears to be something which supermarkets are still struggling to grapple with a decade later.   Animal Concern Advice Line News reported in May 2019 how the Coop (a member of the 'Sustainable Seafood Coalition') had stopped using "sustainable" to describe Scottish salmon but changed it to "responsible":

 

 

 

An email to the Coop from John Robins of Animal Concern Advice Line dated 3 May 2019 concluded:

 

 

 

 

The Coop replied on 15 May 2019 pledging to remove the "sustainable" description from Scottish salmon:

 

 

 

 

Here's the reply on 15 May 2019 from John Robins at Animal Concern Advice Line:

 

 

 

 

When I contacted the 'Sustainable Seafood Coalition' this week I was pleasantly surprised to get a positive response – here's the email correspondence:

 

 

 

From: Oliver Tanqueray <OTanqueray@clientearth.org>
Date: Mon, Nov 22, 2021 at 12:40 PM
Subject: RE: "Responsibility" claims by SSC – any update?
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Cc: ssc <ssc@clientearth.org>

Hi Don

Thanks for your interest. The sections of the SSC Codes you’ve shared below are still current. You can see them in context in the most recently updated Codes here, on pages 10-11 and 17.

I did notice that the URL you sent is for a page containing a link to an older version of the Codes – I’ve now updated this to make sure the website directs visitors to the latest version of that document.

If SSC work on aquaculture is of interest to you, you might also like to look into our ongoing Feed Working Group – minutes for all those meetings are here. We also have responsible sourcing guidance for businesses buying farmed seafood here (particularly pages 18-26 and 29-30).

Please let me know if you have any other queries or feedback on the work of the SSC.

All the best,

Oliver

Oliver Tanqueray

Sustainable Seafood Coalition Coordinator

t. +44 (0)20 3030 5958 Pronouns: he/his

ClientEarth, The Joinery, 34 Drayton Park, London, N5 1PB

 

 

 

 

 

 

ClientEarth's response in June 2021 to the Competition and Markets Authority's consultation on 'Misleading environmental claims' is also available online here – it includes:

 

 

No further correspondence is attached publicly but ClientEarth's consultation response included an 'Explainer':

 

 

 

 

 

Look online and you will be able to download the 'Sustainable Seafood Coalition' voluntary 'Codes of Conduct' (July 2021) which includes:

 

 

 

 

Another document headed 'Guidance: voluntary codes of conduct' published by the 'Sustainable Seafood Coalition' dated July 2021 includes:

 

 

 

 

Without a hint of irony, Client Earth have a section of their website on 'Greenwashing':

 

 

ClientEarth claims to be challenging supermarkets on fish sourcing:

 

We’re now more aware of issues around meat consumption, but our knowledge of fish is less clear. Can we limit commercial fishing’s negative impacts through how we buy seafood? We spoke to Oliver Tanqueray, our SSC coordinator, to find out. https://t.co/7sDeIEiOy0 #WorldOceansDay pic.twitter.com/c6Ly6rZnxW

— ClientEarth (@ClientEarth) June 8, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

The greenwashing of seafood via dubious certification systems such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council has plunged new depths.   

 

 

 

 

Here's an op-ed by Adam Daddino of accredited certification assessment provider SCS Global Services published yesterday (24 November 2021) by Seafood Source: