Floundering Around

The report finds that the majority of European retailers are failing to implement substantive policies for sustainable aquaculture. Three-quarters of the 33 retailers assessed were placed in the 'red zone', with none achieving 'frontrunner' status. Key failures include a lack of targets to eliminate wild-caught fish from feed, inadequate fish welfare protections, and poor transparency in labelling and sourcing. While UK retailers showed more progressive approaches in feed and welfare, and some French and German retailers joined industry initiatives, Spanish retailers performed the worst, with all 11 assessed companies landing in the red zone.

• The vast majority of European retailers lack substantive policies for sustainable aquaculture sourcing, with 76% of the 33 retailers assessed falling into the 'red zone' and none achieving 'frontrunner' status.
• No surveyed retailer has established a clear target to reduce or eliminate the use of wild-caught fish in aquaculture feed, which the report links to damage to marine ecosystems and food insecurity in the Global South.
• Retailers are failing to provide adequate transparency and labelling for farmed seafood; 27% of responding retailers do not include the farm name on labels or require public reporting on feed composition and origin.
• Fish welfare protections are deemed inadequate across the sector, with no retailer maintaining a policy to automatically blacklist farms with high mortality rates.
• Regional performance varies, with UK retailers generally leading in feed and welfare policies, while Spanish retailers performed the worst, with all 11 assessed companies placed in the red zone.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2021). Floundering Around. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CM-WEB-EX-SUM-EN-FLOUNDERING-AROUND-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. Floundering Around. 2021. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CM-WEB-EX-SUM-EN-FLOUNDERING-AROUND-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=Floundering Around |date=November 2021 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CM-WEB-EX-SUM-EN-FLOUNDERING-AROUND-FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2021floundering, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{Floundering Around}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CM-WEB-EX-SUM-EN-FLOUNDERING-AROUND-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }