Cardiff students lead city to a sustainable fish star
The majority of Cardiff’s students are now dining on Sustainable Fish as Cardiff Metropolitan University sign the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge [1], earning the city its third star out of the five required to become a Sustainable Fish City.
The 14,000 students of Cardiff Met will benefit from its latest food policy which is now subject to the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge. This ensures that all fish on sale within the University is from verifiably sustainable sources, protecting vulnerable marine environments and reducing impact upon our depleting fish stocks, while supporting sustainable fishermen and farmers.
Cardiff Met’s new fish sourcing policy means that with immediate effect, they have stopped sourcing products considered endangered according to the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide (rated ‘5’) [2], and will always consider which products are most sustainable by applying the MCS’s traffic-light rating when they buy fish.
Andrew Phelps, Catering & Hospitality Service Manager at Cardiff Metropolitan University said:
“Students and visitors of Cardiff Met expect the best and serving sustainable food is a very important part of that. It hasn’t been difficult to implement the pledge because there are lots of sustainable fish options available now. Sustainable fish is an incredibly important issue and everyone should support this by making informed decisions.”
Signing the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge is the latest action as part of their successful Sustainability Action Plan [3]. The plan outlines annual targets for improvement including minimising the waste of food and energy, increasing the campus’ biodiversity and ensuring sustainable sourcing. Their annual Environmental & Sustainability Policy Reports have highlighted their continued success in fulfilling their ambition of becoming one of the UK’s leading Sustainable Universities through the review and devlopment of its environmental credentials.
Cardiff Met join a host of other Cardiff based higher educational units, including Cardiff University and The University of South Wales, to collectively earn a Sustainable Fish Cities star for Higher Education. This is the third star in recognition of Cardiff’s sustainable fish policy, adding to the previous stars awarded for demonstrably sustainable fish served in the majority Hospitals and Local Authorities and Schools.
This pledge is a major boost for Cardiff as a city, which is aiming to become a Sustainable Fish City as part of an initiative run by Food Cardiff [4]. The Sustainable Fish Cities campaign aims to see only verifiably sustainable fish on menus in the UK. It is currently rolled out across in 16 towns and cities as part of the UK’s Sustainable Food Cities network [5].
ENDS
For more information about Sustainable Fish Cities and how to get involved, contact:
Ruth Westcott
Sustain
0203 5596 777
ruth@sustainweb.org
Notes to editors
[1] The Sustainable Fish Cities Pledge commits fish-serving businesses to serve only fish which can be demonstrated as sustainable. The campaign is organised by an alliance of not-for-profit organisations, sustainable catering advisors and marine conservation specialists. Members of the Sustainable Fish City working group include Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Pisces Responsible Fish Restaurants. Sustainable Fish City is coordinated by Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, see: www.sustainablefishcity.net
[2] 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. See their website at: http://www.mcsuk.org.
[3] The Plan can be found here http://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/about/Pages/Sustainability-Action-Plan,-Policies-and-Annual-Report.aspx
[4] Food Cardiff is a partnership working collaboratively across Cardiff to make healthy and sustainable food a defining characteristic of the city www.foodcardiff.com
[5] The Sustainable Food Cities network is an alliance of public, private and third sector organisations using food as a vehicle for positive change. It is coordinated by Food Matters, Soil Association and Sustain, and is funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. www.sustainablefoodcities.org
Published Monday 9 May 2016
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.
