Fishing for the future

The state of the ocean’s fish stocks is a worldwide concern, but by purchasing responsibly sourced fish, you can make a difference!

We, like you, care about the state of the ocean’s fish stocks. And by sourcing and buying responsibly sourced fish, we can make a difference together.

 WOOLWORTHS COMMITMENTS

We remain deeply committed to procuring all our seafood from sustainable fisheries and responsible farming operations and are working with local and international seafood sustainability awareness and certification programmes, including the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the WWF-SA’s Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (WWF-SASSI) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) to ensure that all our seafood is responsibly sourced.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO

You can start by checking packaging information for credible eco-labels and ensure you are choosing from SASSI’s Green list.

THE SASSI GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD

WWF-SASSI compiles a colour-coded list of seafood species, indicating those that are plentiful and those that are overexploited or caught in a way that is not environmentally responsible.

By using a “traffic light” system, the colour-coded SASSI list categorises selected South African and imported seafood species according to their conservation status.

GREEN

• This is the group from which consumers are encouraged to choose, as it contains the most sustainable choices from the healthiest and most well-managed populations. These species can handle current fishing pressure.

ORANGE

•  This group includes species that have associated reasons for concern, either because the species is depleted as a result of overfishing and cannot sustain current fishing pressure, or the fishery that catches them may cause particularly severe environmental damage and/or has high bycatch, or the lifestyle of the species makes it vulnerable to high fishing pressure. Consumers are encouraged to think twice and consider the implications of these choices.

RED

• This group includes both unsustainable species, which are from collapsed populations or have extreme environmental concerns and/or lack appropriate management, and species that are illegal to buy or sell in South Africa (no-sale species). These species should never be bought by consumers. Fish highlighted in bold in this category are illegal to sell in South Africa.

  Key to symbols used in lists:

  Symbol	Description
  *	Specially protected species
  ♦	Fishery improvement projects underway
  	The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-label indicates that a product is certified to be from a well-managed and sustainable fishery. For more information, visit: www.msc.org

  Alaskan Salmon	Abalone (farmed)	Black Musselcracker/ Poenskop
  Albacore Tuna (pole caught)	Atlantic Bigeye Tuna	Bluefin Tuna
  Albacore Tuna	Atlantic Bigeye Tuna	Bluefin Tuna
  Anchovy ♦	Atlantic Yellowfin Tuna	Dageraad
  Angelfish	Atlantic/Norwegian Salmon (farmed)	Indian Ocean Bigeye Tuna
  Atlantic Mackerel	Cape Dory	Indian Ocean Yellowfin Tuna
  Calamari (Squid)	Carpenter (line caught)	Kob (trawl caught) ♦
  Canned Tuna (selected sources)	Catface Rockcod	Red Steenbras
  Dorado	African Sharptooth Catfish (farmed)	Red Stumpnose/Miss Lucy
  Gurnard (offshore trawl)	Englishman	Scotsman
  Hake	Geelbeck/Cape Salmon (line caught)	Sharks (trawl caught)
  Herring	Hake (longline)	White-edge Rockcod
  Horse Mackerel/Maasbanker	Hottentot	Yellowbelly Rockcod
  Kob (land-based farms)	Jacopever (offshore trawl)	Baardman/Belman
  Mussels (farmed and wild)	King Mackerel	Blacktail/Dassie
  Oysters (farmed and wild)	Kingklip ♦	Brindle Bass *
  Panga (line caught)	Kob (farmed at sea or line caught)	Bronze Bream
  Portuguese Sardines	Monk ♦	Cape Stumpnose
  Queen Mackerel	New Zealand Kingklip/ Ling	Galjoen
  Santer	Pangasius/Basa (farmed)	Garrick
  South African Sardines ♦	Prawns	King Fish
  Snoek	Red Roman	Knife Jaw
  West Coast Rock Lobster	Sharks (line caught)	Natal Stumpnose
  Yellowfin Tuna (pole caught)	Skates and Rays	Natal Wrasse *
  Yellowtail	Slinger	Potato Bass *
  	Sole (East Coast) ♦	River Snapper
  	Swordfish	Seventy-four *
  	White Stumpnose (line caught)	Spotted Grunter
  	Yellowtail (locally farmed)	West Coast Steenbras
  		White Musselcracker
  		White Steenbras

  Download a printable pocket-size SASSI card here.

  If you are unsure about the status of species of fish you want to purchase, you can send an sms with just the name of the fish to the SASSI FishMs number: 079 499 8795. If the species is on one of the SASSI lists, you will receive information about that species, as well as its associated SASSI colour. Smses are charged at standard rates.

  For more information, visit the SASSI website at www.wwf.org.za/sassi Or, if you have specific questions, e-mail SASSI at sassi@wwf.org.za.

  Source: South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI)

  To find out more woolworths.co.za/…ate/corporate-index.jsp

DID YOU KNOW

• Woolworths first compiled a policy for sustainable fish and seafood in 2007 and became the first retailer in South Africa to sign the WWF-SASSI Retail Charter in 2008.

• WWF-SASSI, the South African Seafood Initiative, was launched to inform the seafood industry from wholesalers and retailers to restaurateurs and seafood lovers, about the threats facing South Africa’s marine ecosystems. It aims to shift consumer demand from overexploited species to more sustainable options.

• Imported fish is frozen or canned and shipped in bulk to keep the carbon footprint as low as possible.