SUSTAINABLE FISH CITIES

Overfishing presents a huge global challenge, with unsustainable practices leading to the depletion of stock which threatens livelihoods and marine ecosystems. At Brakes we have long been at the forefront of sustainability initiatives within the foodservice industry with sustainable and ethical sourcing central to our ongoing agenda and strategy, allowing us as a business to help reverse these trends and be a part of a solution.

In spite of our significant existing sustainability commitments we are determeined to not rest on our laurels, and are continuously looking at ways in which we can lead the industry to a more sustainable future. The next step in our commitments saw us become the first foodservice supplier in the UK to sign the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge on Thursday 14th May 2015 at a launch event at the London Sea Life Aquarium.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE FISH CITIES (SFC)?

SFC is an initiative conceived by not-for-profit organisation, Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food and Farming and supported by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Marine Conservation Society (MCS). Working with organisations across all sectors, SFC encourages the signing of a sustainable fish & seafood pledge with the aim of transforming the way in which sustainable fish & seafood is served and celebrated in the UK.

Across a town or city, pledgees must be gathered from 1. Local Authorities, 2. Hospitals, 3. Universities, 4. Workplaces and 5. Restaurants. A star is awarded when sufficient pledgees are gathered in each sector. If enough pledgees are gathered across the town or city, it can be crowned a 5-star Sustainable Fish City.

In 2015 Bournemouth and Poole were awarded the status of the first Sustainable Fish City in the world with numerous other towns and cities from across the UK currently working towards full Sustainable Fish City status.

SUSTAINABLE FISH CITIES (SFC) COMMITMENT

By signing the pledge, organisations are committing to serving 100% demonstrably sustainable fish & seafood, according to the following criteria:

• Removal of MCS rated 5 species ‘Fish to Avoid’ – at the point of signing the pledge.
• Removal of MCS rated 4 species ‘Fish to Eat Very Occasionally’ – within one year of signing the pledge.
• Promoting the Best – serving MCS 1 and 2 species or MSC certified species wherever possible.

BRAKES COMMITMENT

We signed the SFC pledge on Thursday 14th May 2015, which means complying with the above from that point onwards.  We have agreed some flexibility:

• The pledge only applies to our own brand general sale lines that appear in print or digital material.
• A small number of MCS 5 rated products will remain in the range in 2015 whilst we run through existing stock before either switching suppliers or working with existing suppliers to ensure compliance. These will be flagged on the website as such and removed as supply changes.
• With their extensive range of fresh fish & seafood it is impractical for M&J Seafood to sign the pledge and commit to removing all MCS 5 and 4 rated species. However M&J Seafood do have their own Safely Sourced Seafood List for customers to buy from.

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