McDonald’s will be the first company in its sector to introduce MSC certified white fish throughout Europe (Photo: NYTimes)

McDonald's to Serve Sustainable Fish Across Europe

In a landmark move for sustainability, McDonald’s (Public, NYSE:MCD) has announced that over 13 million customers every day across Europe will be able to buy Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fish in McDonald’s restaurants from October this year.

The news comes as 7,000 McDonald’s restaurants across 39 European countries achieve certification to the MSC Chain of Custody traceability standard, as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to enhance its sustainable sourcing practices.

Last year, McDonald's sold approximately 100 million Filet-o-Fish portions across Europe

The initiative will bring certified sustainable fish to millions of people, making it more accessible to more European consumers than ever before. McDonald’s will be the first food service retailer in many of its 39 European countries to sell any products carrying the MSC logo, which will start appearing on packaging from October.

Steve Easterbrook President of McDonald’s Europe

The certification is a result of a long term commitment made by McDonald’s to work with suppliers to improve sustainable fishing practices through its global Sustainable Fisheries Policy.

Steve Easterbrook, President of McDonald’s Europe said: “McDonald’s will be making MSC labelled fish available at an affordable price to millions of our customers across Europe. We chose the MSC certification as the most robust and recognisable independent accreditation of our own sustainable fisheries standard. This is an important milestone in our commitment to ensure future long-term supply.”

Rupert Howes, CEO of the Marine Stewardship Council, said: “McDonald’s Europe’s decision to source white fish products exclusively from fisheries that have met the rigorous MSC standard for sustainability is a tremendous testament to the ability of our industry leaders to transform the seafood market and help drive changes on the water. We’re delighted all of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish in Europe will be MSC certified and McDonald’s is making sustainable fish so widely available. This is a fantastic achievement and we hope that others will follow their lead.”

About McDonald’s Global Sustainable Fisheries Policy

McDonald’s Global Sustainable Fisheries Policy was developed in 2003 with the help of Jim Cannon at Conservation International. Jim, now founder and CEO of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, is an independent expert and leader in his field, so McDonald’s encouraged its suppliers to work with him.
 

The policy requires that an annual independent assessment is carried out at each of the fisheries from which McDonald’s source. This assessment is conducted by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and uses the latest scientific information to rate each fishery according to three criteria: fish stock status, management quality and marine environment and biodiversity conservation.

About the Eastern Baltic fishery

One fishery for which the certification is a particular achievement is the Espersen A/S cod fishery in the Eastern Baltic Sea. Five years ago the fishery was in trouble, with stocks at risk of collapsing and no management plan in place. It failed to meet McDonald’s Sustainable Fisheries Policy standards which meant McDonald’s had to stop sourcing fish from there – the first time it had taken such action.

Baltic Sea Fisheries (Photo: Ministry of Fisheries Latvia)

However, McDonald’s remained engaged whilst fish supplier Espersen and the SFP worked with the fishermen to improve sustainability. McDonald’s actions in pulling out of the Eastern Baltic were a catalyst for change, spurring Espersen and other fish suppliers to challenge fisheries to accept standards and auditing, and to persuade the EU to clamp down on illegal fishing. Five years later, fishing mortality in the Eastern Baltic is at its lowest since the 1940s and McDonald’s is once again sourcing from the region.

Group CEO of A. Espersen A/S, Klaus B. Nielsen, appreciates the positive development of the Baltic Sea cod. "In the summer of 2009 when we announced that we were working on MSC certification of the cod many expressed a certain amount of skepticism. We were, however, convinced that the initiatives launched by the authorities and the industry would make a MSC-certification of the cod obtainable. I am therefore incredibly proud that it is today possible to sell Baltic Sea cod with the MSC-brand.” 

Baltic Sea Cod

Source: McDonald's Corporation

Margaret E.L. Stacey
Editor Companies and Products
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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