Responsibly sourced seafood
Sourcing fish and seafood responsibly is paramount to our business. We believe in promoting the most sustainable seafood available to us, and work with organisations such as the MSC to develop sustainable products.
Sustainable fish
We buy locally wherever possible and only transport fish across the country if they are not available locally. Minimising food miles helps to reduce our carbon footprint and ensures the fish is as fresh as possible.
A significant amount of seafood is wild caught which can lead to overfishing, unwanted by-catch and destructive catch methods. We take the view that we need to work within the industry to guide our customers towards sustainable choices. Our seafood policy is available to view here:
Direct Seafoods Colchester Responsible Sourcing guide
Our team can offer you knowledge and guidance on sustainable species. We use the MCS Good Fish Guide to provide guidance on which fish species are sustainable and ok to eat, and which should be avoided.
Part of the training for our teams includes regular guides which we produce using the Good Fish Guide as a directory. This enables our team to offer responsible advice to our customers to ensure your menus are sustainable, and that endangered species are avoided. Examples of our easy to use guides can be viewed below, and may be a quick way to assist with menu planning. Please ensure you check the MCS latest information, or speak to your account manager prior to listing any species to ensure information is up to date:
Our Seafood Sustainability principles dictate that we:
1. Seek third party independent accreditation wherever possible and give preference to suppliers that are accredited.
2. We demand to know the source and origin of the seafood we sell and endeavour to shorten the supply chain wherever possible.
3. We never knowingly sell products that damage the environment or risk the survival of a species without a plan to rectify the products sustainability credentials.
We believe that the process of investigating sustainability options for customers is a task without end. Nothing will ever remain completely sustainable and often unsustainable choices may become sustainable through proper management. Therefore we treat the search as a journey rather than a destination.
As a business we work closely with many relevant organisations such as:
