ALDI Australia is pleased to announce it is the first Australian retailer to join the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) to voluntarily disclose where ALDI Australia’s wild caught seafood products are sourced. As part of the global platform, ALDI will share a list of the fisheries used to source its seafood products in 2018, including catch method, certification status and environmental impact.
This transparency is part of ALDI’s wider commitment to ensure all ALDI own-brand fish and seafood will be responsibly sourced by the end of 2020.
We are working with our business partners and with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership to ensure that all products meet our responsible sourcing criteria at the tender stage. Where risks are identified, ALDI works with suppliers to put in place an Improvement Action Plan to support them through the required operational changes.
“Our commitments mean that all of the fish and seafood sold at ALDI will be recognised by an independent third party as having been responsibly sourced,” said Matthew Atley, Buying Director of Seafood at ALDI Australia.
“While the commitments have been driven by our responsibility to minimise our impact on the environment, we also recognise that Australians want to buy seafood that they know has been responsibly sourced,” says Matthew.
The partnership with the Ocean Disclosure Project builds on ALDI’s existing Trace your Tuna initiative where customers can identify the fishery where their canned tuna was caught. ALDI customers can simply enter the FAO number printed on the top of each tuna can to find out more detailed information on the location the fish was caught. For example, the majority of our yellowfin tuna is sourced from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, which has some of the healthiest population of tuna in the world.
In addition to Trace your Tuna, shoppers can also keep an eye out for the Future Fish logo on a wide range of our fish and seafood products. The logo represents that these products have been independently certified as responsibly sourced or from a fishery that is working to conserve wild fish populations. ALDI is also proud to have the largest range of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified own-label fish and seafood of any Australian retailer. The MSC provides independent verification that a wild-caught fish product was responsibly sourced.
Globally, 83% of seafood consumers want to protect seafood for future generations. The Australian market is particularly interested in understanding where their seafood comes from, with 51% of all Australian seafood consumers stating they are worried about overfishing.* These concerns reflect current statistics on the condition of the seafood industry worldwide. According to research by the World Wildlife Fund, 30% of fisheries are being pushed beyond their biological limits. ALDI’s commitment to buying sustainable seafood seeks to address these unsustainable conditions.
Our commitment to sourcing sustainable seafood is a step toward securing the future of the industry and safeguarding our oceans. We will continue sustainable practices by committing to acts of transparency, such as the Ocean Disclosure Project and Trace your Tuna initiatives, to make it easier for our customers to make informed purchasing decisions.
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