Heathrow has become the first airport in which all fish-serving businesses within the site will adopt a sustainable fish buying policy, having taken the first step of removing red-rated fish (those which are considered by the Marine Conservation Society to be the most overfished and/or damaging to the marine environment).
Congratulations to the following food-serving businesses, whose commitments have allowed Heathrow to be crowned a Sustainable Fish Airport
Boots
One of the UK’s most well-loved high street brands, Boots may be best known as a chemist but sells millions of sandwiches, salads and snacks each week. Boots are proving that it is possible to have a robust sustainable fish buying policy and still sell sandwich favourites like tuna and prawns, by choosing certified sustainable prawns and salmon, and pole-and-line caught tuna. Their supplier standard ensures this continues to be the case.
Caffe Nero
Cafe Nero is one of the UK's most popular high street cafe chains, priding itself on fine quality Italian coffee. Cafe Nero serves just a few fish products, and all its tuna is pole and line caught. Their sustainable fish pledge covers the fish across all their sites, not just Heathrow.
Carluccios
Carluccios have led the pack on sustainable seafood sourcing for a number of years, and were one of the first restaurant groups to sign up to the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge. Their choice to sell some less well-loved species is particularly commendable – they are helping to introduce their customers to less popular but sustainable fish species including clams, mussels and crab sourced from the UK
Caviar House & Prunier
Caviar House is a world-renowned caviar and seafood restaurant - it sells the second biggest range of fish species in Heathrow including lobster, crayfish, herring, oyster, crab, salmon and tuna. As part of signing the Sustainable Fish Airports pledge, Caviar House have switched to a more sustainable source of king prawns.
Ca’puccino
Bringing Italian-inspired food and drink to Heathrow, Ca’puccino has signed the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge through HMS Host, who operate the Heathrow branch. As part of their pledge they will improve the source of red prawns to make sure they meet sustainable fish standards.
Compass Group
Compass Group have not yet been able to provide full information about the fish that they buy. We hope to carry on working with Compass Group to make sure that their buying supports sustainable oceans
Comptoir Libanais
Comptoir Libanais specialises in middle-eastern dishes of mezze’s, tagines and pastries. The restaurant is run by The Restaurant Group, and therefore comes under their sustainability policy, including their salmon.
Costa
Costa Coffee is one of the UK's best known high street coffee chains with over 2500 stores in the UK&I. As well as its famous coffee, Costa serve hot and cold sandwiches and salads, with tuna as their main fish ingredient. All their tuna is from sources considered 'fish to eat' by the Marine Conservation Society. Costa will be updating its sustainable sourcing policy later this year to make sure that their buying continues to support sustainable oceans.
The Curator
The curator is a craft beer and cocktail bar serving British food classics – run by The Restaurant Group. All the fish served will now be covered by their sustainable fish pledge which will see them serve only fish rated 1-3 by the Marine Conservation Society by June 2020.
Delaware North
Delaware North specialises in catering for sporting events, stadia, and in transport hubs, and signed the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge in 2016. As part of this project they have also removed soft-shell crab from the menu and – impressively - have adopted a sustainable fish buying policy across all their UK venues.
The Darwin
The Darwin is styled as a modern British pub, serving sharing platters, pizzas and burgers. The Darwin is operated by the Casual Dining Group, and as part of their pledge will investigate a new source of squid, to be on menus within 12 months, and has already swapped to certified salmon.
Doug Sherry
Doug Sherry provide catering for hundreds of transport staff every day within Heathrow. Their menu includes sustainable fish and chips and they are working with their supplier to secure the best sources of farmed bream.
EAT
All the fish served across EAT's outlets (not just those in Heathrow) are rated 1-3 by the Marine Conservation Society. As part of this project they have thoroughly investigated the source of their crayfish, which is caught in China where it is an invasive species and therefore its catch doesn't endanger wild stocks. Crayfish are a good alternative to king prawns.
Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum and Mason's Terminal 5 bar offers top British seafood including Cornish mackerel, oysters, crab, and potted shrimp. As part of signing the pledge Fortnum and Mason have published a sustainable fish buying policy on their website and within 12 months of signing the pledge, all the fish served will be rated 1-3 by the Marine Conservation Society.
The George
The George is a modern British pub, serving sharing platters, pizzas and burgers. The pub is operated by the Casual Dining Group, and as part of their pledge will investigate a new source of squid, and have already swapped to certified salmon.
Giraffe
Giraffe is a UK-wide restaurant chain with 44 outlets across the UK, serving dishes inspired by cuisines from across the globe. Giraffe is operated by The Restaurant Group so the fish served will be covered by their sustainable fish pledge, including certified sustainable king prawns.
Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food
Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food provided information about the fish they are serving and we can commend them on their transparancy. They have not signed up to the sustainable fish airports pledge, but we hope to carry on working together to make sure that their buying continues to support sustainable oceans.
The Gorgeous Kitchen
The Gorgeous Kitchen offers travellers fine-dining with magnificent views of the runway. Its fish menu will be covered by a pledge by HMS host. HMS host have already changed the source of their tuna, and within 12 months will either remove or improve the source of their squid and red shrimp.
Huxleys
Huxleys restaurant is a modern restaurant and bar serving pub favourites. They are operated by the Casual Dining Group, so are covered by their pledge, which included switching to a certified source of salmon across and serving top-rated cod for fish and chips
itsu
itsu offer Asian-inspired sushi, salads and hot food, and pride themselves on their healthy, colourful menu. Many of itsu's products contain fish, so their pledge is particularly impressive. As part of the Sustainable Fish Airports project, itsu have investigated and are considering switching the source of their surimi across all outlets - over 70 in the UK - and more information will be published about this soon.
JD Wetherspoon
JD Wetherspoon are already leading the pack for sustainable fish because some of the fish on the menu is Marine Stewardship Council certified and they use the ecolabel on menus so customers easily spot sustainable choices. Taking the pledge means that all the fish on the Heathrow menu (which is slightly smaller than the regular JD Wetherspoon menu) is either MSC certified or rated 1-3 by the Marine Conservation Society, including certified king prawns, and this will continue thanks to their pledge.
La Salle
La Salle serves modern French food and cocktails, and is operated by the Casual Dining Group. As part of signing up to the Sustainable Fish Airports pledge, the company switched to a new source of Salmon, and also use certified king prawns.
LEON
Offering fresh, real and healthy food at speed, Leon has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence. Their sustainability credentials are demonstrated by their commitment to Fairtrade ingredients, and ambitions to reduce the amount of meat in its dishes. Following a thorough review of its sourcing, Leon has committed to replacing its line-caught cod within the next 12 months of trading. LEON has signed the pledge thanks to HMS Host, who manage the Heathrow branch.
London’s Pride
The Fuller family began brewing in 1816, and they now operate 280 pubs across the south of England. Food is a big part of Fullers' pubs; and their outlet in Heathrow Airport is to be commended for serving a varied fish menu including anchovies and crayfish. They have pledged to ensure that any new fish served will be rated 1-3 by the Marine Conservation Society.
The Gorgeous Kitchen
The Gorgeous Kitchen provided information about the fish they are serving and we can commend them on their transparancy. They have not signed up to the sustainable fish airports pledge, but we hope to carry on working together to make sure that their buying continues to support sustainable oceans.
Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer were one of the first large companies to adopt a sustainable fish buying policy, back in 1997, and they have a very detailed public policy promising that they aim to only source fish 'from the most responsible sources available'. Marks and Spencer have not taken the pledge, but they have taken action to take a scampi product off shelves and are continuing to support a fishery improvement project for this species and a number of other improvement projects for fisheries in the UK and across the world.
Oriel Grande Brasserie
Oriel Grande Brasserie is a French-inspired, art-deco eatery operated by the Casual Dining Group. As part of their pledge, the site has switched to a certified sustainable source of salmon, and over the next 12 months will find a new source for their anchovies or stop selling them all together.
The Perfectionists' cafe
Heston Blumenthal crated The Perfectionist's cafe to offer exceptional quality food in an airport setting - including sandwiches, burgers, pizza and pasta. As part of signing up to the pledge, the company has ensured all their fish meets the sustainable fish airport standards and will switch to a better source of tuna within 12 months
Pilots Bar & Kitchen
Pilots Bar & Kitchen is a vintage-inspired brasserie selling sandwiches, burgers and pizza. The bar serves Salmon and Haddock - as part of signing the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge, they will start to serve coley, a fish which is top-rated for sustainability, sourced from the UK, but rarely seen on menus.
Pret a Manger
Pret A Manger is one of the most popular food-to-go businesses in the UK. Its sandwiches, salads and wraps are handmade fresh each day in its on-site kitchens from carefully sourced ingredients. One of its most popular products is the tuna mayo and cucumber baguette which uses pole and line caught tuna, and its salmon products are all made using certified farmed salmon. Pret will soon introduce a new product which helps to reduce wasting offcuts of fish - more information soon!
The Prince of Wales
The Prince of Wales is a traditional-style British pub, serving home cooked favourites, toasties and burgers. The pub is owned by The Restaurant Group so the fish served will be covered by their sustainable fish pledge, including their fish fingers and king prawns.
Spuntino
Spuntino is a small Italian/American restaurant operated by The Restaurant Group. All the fish served will now be covered by their sustainable fish pledge including their popular fish and chips.
Starbucks
Starbucks provided information about the fish they are serving and we can commend them on their transparancy. They have not signed up to the sustainable fish airports pledge, but we hope to carry on working together to make sure that their buying continues to support sustainable oceans.
Wagamama
Wagamama provided information about the fish they are serving and we can commend them on their transparancy. They have not signed up to the sustainable fish airports pledge, but we hope to carry on working together to make sure that their buying continues to support sustainable oceans.
WHSmith
WHSmith is best known as a stationers and bookshop but they sell a range of sandwiches, salads and sushi, including salmon and tuna. WHSmith have thoroughly investigated the source and catch method of their tuna and since signing the pledge will only allow fish rated 1-3 into their product lines.
YO! Sushi & Fresh Japanese Food
YO! is passionate about serving healthy, Japanese food and it has been committed to responsibly sourcing seafood since it launched over 20 years ago. It now sells the biggest range of high quality fish and seafood of any restaurant in Heathrow and has taken action to ensure its products are rated 1-3 by the Marine Conservation Society or certified ecolabel standard, not just for the site at Heathrow, but across all its restaurants in the UK. The actions that YO! is taking to fulfil the pledge will be completed in the coming months.
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.