Sainsbury’s & Mowi Consumer Products win Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) UK Awards 2022

For the second year in a row, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) joined the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in its annual UK Awards, which this year took place in Scotland, with the aim of recognising the efforts made to deliver responsible seafood to UK customers.

Sainsbury’s was recognised as the ASC UK Retailer of the Year.  For the first time, ASC also awarded the ASC UK Retail Supplier of the Year 2022. This was awarded to Mowi Consumer Products and recognises the work which is involved from the supply base to drive sustainability within the supply chain.

“Congratulations to Sainsbury’s and Mowi for winning this year’s ASC UK Awards. These awards recognize, not only the significant commitment that it takes for a retailer to covert its entire farmed seafood category to responsibly produced aquaculture, but also the dedication of one of its major suppliers to meet these commitments. This takes collective hard work throughout the supply chain to deliver certified seafood on a daily basis,” Chris Ninnes, ASC CEO said.

I would like to offer a huge personal thanks to both companies. These commitments along with those from a growing band of other processors, farmers and retail businesses will be the catalysts for future improvements to the many local and global supply chains providing the UK with its seafood,” Ninnes added.

George Clark, MSC Programme Director, UK & Ireland, said: “We are very pleased to welcome back our friends at the ASC to join us for our annual Awards. Holding our ceremony in Scotland this year provided a great opportunity to recognise the region’s importance as a source of certified wild caught and farmed seafood. It’s been fantastic to see more ASC labelled products become available to shoppers in the UK over the past year thanks to the hard work of Sainsbury’s and Mowi.”

Sainsbury’s and Mowi’s commitment to responsible aquaculture

Starting with a commitment to source 100% ASC certified farmed seafood, Sainsbury’s now offer the widest range of ASC certified products to UK customers.

Dave Parker, Sainsbury’s Aquaculture and Fisheries Manager, said: “We are delighted to have won ASC UK Retailer of the Year. We know how important it is for our customers and colleagues that products are responsibly sourced, and it is testament to the efforts and progress our teams have made. This year we were the first supermarket to have 100% ASC certified fresh Scottish salmon which we hope gives our customers confidence that our fresh seafood is high quality and responsibly sourced. We’ll continue to work closely with our suppliers and the ASC to ensure food is sourced responsibly from all perspectives.”

The Retail Supplier of the Year Award, won by Mowi, recognises the work which is involved from the supply base to drive sustainability within the supply chain. “Mowi is committed to providing its customers with a leading third-party certification that recognises companies that go above and beyond regarding social and environmental criteria. The ASC standard helps Mowi build trust with leading retailers like Sainsbury’s who rightfully expect top quality and responsibly raised seafood. It’s great to be recognised for the exceptional work Mowi does to bring Sainsbury’s salmon to the table” said Dougie Hunter, Technical & Operations Director for Mowi.

“It has been a pleasure working with these partners who have gone above and beyond this year to offer the largest range of ASC certified seafood to our UK customers.  I look forward to continued collaboration and achievements,” said Lorraine Gallagher, UK Market Development Manager for ASC.

UK’s growing demand for responsible seafood

The UK demand for ASC labelled products is growing at +51% year-on-year. That means customers can choose from almost 1,500 products in stores ranging from fresh, frozen, or on-the-go. The choice of locally farmed responsible seafood is also increasing for UK shoppers, with 31 ASC certified farms in the country farming salmon and mussels. The first half of this year alone has seen an increase in 25% more certified farms in UK.