The institutions involved have committed to remove all products containing fish considered to be ‘fish to avoid’ by the Marine Conservation Society [3], and serve those considered ‘fish to eat’ and those which carry the Marine Stewardship Council’s sustainable fish label [4]. A number of Durham’s pledges will have a big impact outside the city, including supporter Tiffin Sandwiches, who produce over 7 million sandwiches per year for sale in shops and take-aways across the country.
ENDS
For more information about Sustainable Fish Cities and how to get involved, contact:
Sustain
0203 5596 777
ruth@sustainweb.org
[1] Sustainable Fish Cities is an initiative conceived and supported by an alliance of not-for-profit organisations. We want to create the first ever Sustainable Fish Cities - to show what can be done if people and organisations make a concerted effort to change their buying habits. The Sustainable Fish City project began when a working group helped the organisers of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to buy only sustainable fish. Inspired by this achievement, we began to campaign to make sure all of the seafood served across UK towns and cities is sustainable.
[2] A list of all pledgers can be found here https://www.sustainweb.org/sustainablefishcity/durham/
[3] The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK’s leading charity for the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife. The voice for our seas for almost 30 years, MCS champions protection for marine wildlife, sustainable fisheries and clean seas and beaches. Their sustainability ratings to help fish buyers choose the fish to eat (rated 1) and which fish to avoid (rated 5).See their website at: http://www.mcsuk.org
[4] The Marine Stewardship Council is an ecolabelling organisation which sets an international scientific standard for sustainable fishing. Fisheries undergo a rigorous assessment, and those that pass are recognised with the blue fish-tick ecolabel. About 10% of global fisheries are either certified or in assessment. See their website at: https://msc.org
[5] Find out more about Durham’s Local Food Strategy here: http://fooddurham.net/sustainable-foodstrategy
Sustainable Fish: A campaign to protect precious marine environments and fishing livelihoods, and call for fish to be bought from sustainable sources. We want to show what can be done if people and organisations make a concerted effort to change their buying habits.