Naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham has condemned British supermarkets for a “dereliction of duty” over food labelling and sourcing, as a joint investigation by the Guardian and environmental website DeSmog reveals that the retailers are selling fish from farms that import large quantities of fishmeal from Africa.
Factories in Senegal grind down small, edible fish into meal that is then sold on to fish farms in Turkey, fuelling unemployment and food insecurity in the African country.
The two-year investigation into the supply chain behind sea bass and sea bream on sale in UK supermarket fridges found that Turkish seafood giant, Kılıç Deniz, or its subsidiary Agromey, has supplied sea bass or sea bream to Waitrose, Co-op, Aldi, Lidl and Asda over the past four years, and that the farms use fishmeal from three factories in Senegal.
The bass and bream, grown on farms in Turkey owned by Kılıç or Agromey, are labelled “responsibly” sourced or farmed, based on certification from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and other standards bodies.
Packham, who is a vegan, said: “If you do eat fish, how do you make an ethical choice in a supermarket aisle if food labelling is so appalling that you’re incapable of doing so? This is robbing consumers of their right, in a climate and biodiversity crisis, to use the most powerful form of protest, which is economic protest.
“Until [supermarkets] accept their corporate responsibility to allow us to make ethical choices in those aisles, they are in dereliction of their duty.”
The complex supply chain also revealed that the retailers were supplied by two UK wholesalers, New England Seafood International and Ocean Fish, who used Kiliç and Agromey. These two wholesalers have also sold sea bass or sea bream to Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, the investigation found. The investigation has been unable to establish whether that fish came to the wholesalers from Kılıç or another fish farm.
A senior figure at Greenpeace Africa said the investigation revealed an “ecological colonialism”, in which British retailers are complicit, by depriving west Africans of essential protein.
Dr Aliou Ba, oceans campaign lead at Greenpeace Africa, said: “This highlights our fundamentally broken food system, in which the fish that should be feeding people in Senegal and west Africa is being turned into fishmeal for farmed fish to feed European consumption. This is modern-day ecological colonialism, stealing food from people’s plates to fuel our unjust global food system.
“When certification systems allow this practice, they fail in their most fundamental objective. Retailers must stop being complicit in this exploitative system, which prioritises profits over the fundamental right to food security.”
Campaigner and founder of the Green Britain Foundation, Dale Vince, claimed that the British public were being sold a “fairy story” of responsible sourcing and said that accreditation or assurance schemes were “clearly not enough”.
When presented with the findings of the investigation, Waitrose, Lidl, Tesco and Sainsbury’s declined to comment, referring the Guardian to a statement from Sophie De Salis, sustainability policy adviser at the British Retail Council: “UK retailers are dedicated to sourcing seafood products responsibly. Our members regularly review fishing practices in their supply chains to ensure they meet the highest standards.”
De Salis added: “Retailers adhere to all legal requirements around product labelling. They ensure high standards are upheld throughout their supply chains through third-party certified verification.”
Morrisons, Aldi and M&S all said they do not currently source from Kılıç or Agromey farms but declined to say whether they had in the past. Aldi also said that, since last year, it no longer sources from the wholesalers mentioned in the investigation. The Guardian understands the Co-op sells about six tonnes of sea bass farmed by Kılıç annually. Asda did not respond to requests for comment.
Kılıç said it was not in breach of ASC standards. It was not breaking any laws by buying raw materials from Senegal, it said, and added “we do not manage the fishing policies of countries like Senegal”. Acknowledging “concerns in world public opinion”, it continued: “We think we can limit our purchases from Senegal.”
Senegalese fish oil and fishmeal makes up less than 1% of its total purchases, it said, and added that the fish used were “not caught for human consumption”. The ASC said that Senegal was not listed as a sourcing country in 2024 for whole fish marine ingredients by Kılıç. But in any case, sourcing of this fish may not breach its rules, it said, if these fish are mixed into feed. These fish can be mixed into feed as long as the balance of ingredients meets its standards.
