Spanish seafood industry 'should work together’ towards sustainability

ClientEarth is urging the Spanish seafood industry, one of Europe’s largest, to work together for a more sustainable and responsible supply chain.

Following the success of its Sustainable Seafood Coalition in the UK, ClientEarth has started working with businesses in Spain to make the sourcing, processing and selling of seafood more environmentally responsible.

ClientEarth’s work in establishing the Sustainable Seafood Coalition in the UK has resulted in approximately 75% of seafood in British supermarkets being labelled and sourced responsibly.

The seafood market in Spain is huge: the country boasts the highest capacity fishing fleets in the EU and its vessels fish in every ocean on the planet.

Spain also has one of the highest seafood consumption rates in the EU – its 46.5 million population eats on average 45kg of seafood per person each year. In 2016, Spain produced 1.2 million tonnes of wild and farmed seafood, and almost half that figure again needed to be imported to satisfy Spanish appetites.

ClientEarth has been working with the seafood supply chain and major retailers to bring about a group to share good practices when sourcing sustainable seafood.

ClientEarth’s Spanish sustainable seafood project coordinator Paloma Colmenarejo said: “We want all seafood sold in Spain to be from sustainable sources, with full traceability, transparency and with absolutely no doubt about illegal fish arriving on Spanish dinner plates.

“Spanish consumers are increasingly becoming aware about eating more sustainably and we want to see the supply chain making more sustainable choices to keep up with this demand. This requires a collaborative approach from the industry and we’ve been working to establish a group that welcomes all retailers in Spain, and their representatives.

“This group is a great opportunity to work on environmental priorities collaboratively for a common goal: to ensure Spain can be a leader in the sale of sustainable seafood products.”

As part of this coalition, seafood businesses come together to agree on a code of conduct, which ensures greater transparency for customers to know where their seafood comes from, and offers credibility for retailers through improved labelling.