M&J Seafood will stop supplying European Eel to catering trade

2nd February 2010, 8:26am

M&J Seafood has announced that it will no longer be supplying European Eel to the catering trade from the end of March due to the species being classified as critically endangered' on the IUCN Red List.

The decision to remove all European Eel from its frozen and fresh product portfolio comes as part of M&J's continued efforts to support sustainable sourcing and champion under-utilised species.

The company has also taken the decision to ban all North Atlantic Halibut sourced from 'target capture fisheries'. Now M&J's frozen Halibut steaks will be sourced from sustainably certified Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) fisheries in the Pacific Ocean and fresh Halibut, will be sourced from Wild Pacific, Canadian and Alaskan MSC certified fisheries (season April –Nov) as well as Farmed Scottish and Norwegian suppliers.

M&J Seafood is working closely with suppliers, WWF, Goodcatch and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to ensure its fish supply is not taken from threatened or depleting stocks, and is committed to raising awareness of sustainable sourcing in the foodservice industry. 

Mike Berthet, group director, fish and seafood at M&J, explained: "At M&J we believe the catering industry operators and suppliers have an enormous role to play in supporting the sustainable management of our fish stocks. 

"By refusing to sell endangered species and taking the initiative to help customers understand the issues and the alternatives open to them, suppliers like us can generate real change and help slow down and reverse over-fishing."

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Norman Pasley

14 February 2010 at 2:17pm

Good news. Now let's educate other fish suppliers to stop catching and selling endangered species. For example, I believe oysters in Portsmouth Harbour are being dredged to extinction. And let's get on with setting up the UK's Marine Reserves.

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