Floundering Around

The report evaluates 33 European retailers across three priority areas: the elimination of wild fish in aquaculture feed, the monitoring of fish mortality, and supply chain transparency. It finds that 76% of the companies are in the 'red zone,' indicating a near total lack of substantive policies. No retailer achieved 'Leader' status in any category. While some UK and French retailers show more progress, Spanish supermarkets performed exceptionally poorly, with all 11 evaluated companies in the red zone. Key issues identified include the impact of fish meal and fish oil (FMFO) on West African food security and a general failure to provide transparent labeling to consumers.

• The vast majority of evaluated European retailers lack substantive policies to address aquaculture challenges, with 76% of the 33 companies categorized in the 'red zone' and none achieving 'Leader' status in any of the three priority areas.
• No supermarket chain has a clear objective to eliminate the use of wild fish in aquaculture feed, which prevents them from guaranteeing that their supply chains do not harm marine ecosystems or the food security of communities in countries providing fish meal and fish oil (FMFO).
• Retailers are failing to provide adequate fish welfare protections, leading to significant suffering and mortality in production farms. While some German retailers have joined the Albert Schweitzer Stiftung to address issues like humane slaughter, overall measures remain inadequate.
• There is a significant lack of transparency and legal compliance regarding labeling; 27% of responding retailers (13 companies) do not include the producer or farm name on consumer labels and do not require public reports on feed composition.
• Geographic performance varies, with UK retailers (specifically M&S, Tesco, and Waitrose) and some French retailers showing more progress. In contrast, all 11 evaluated Spanish supermarkets were placed in the red zone.
• The aquaculture industry's reliance on wild fish for feed has severe social impacts, such as in West Africa where over 500,000 tonnes of fish that could feed 33 million people are converted into fish meal and fish oil (FMFO) for European and Asian markets.

APA

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

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. Floundering Around. 2021. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CM-WEB-EX-SUM-FR-FLOUNDERING-AROUND.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-FR-FLOUNDERING-AROUND.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-FR-FLOUNDERING-AROUND.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }