Selfridges has long demonstrated its commitment to ocean conservation. In 2011, it launched Project Ocean, a long-term partnership between Selfridges and The Zoological Society of London to stop overfishing and pollution, and to protect oceans through the creation of marine reserves. It also worked with the Marine Conservation Society in order to reassure its 30,000 daily customers that it doesn’t sell or serve endangered fish in its Foodhall or restaurants.
Nicola Waller, Selfridges Director of Food, commented: “We are really proud to work with Southbank Fresh Fish. They have an enviable reputation and heritage of supplying some of London's most demanding and discerning chefs and restaurants. I have no doubt that the Southbank team’s passion and expertise will enhance our fish counter and provide an exceptional service.”
Southbank will use its considerable expertise, built on decades of helping professional kitchens source sustainable seafood, to ensure that Selfridges’ customers have access to a richly diverse choice of delicious and nutritious fresh fish products. Furthermore, it will aim to help these customers better understand the complexities of responsible fisheries management.
The fresh fish counter will hold Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody (CoC) certification for seafood traceability. This standard makes sure that the MSC eco-label is only displayed on seafood from an MSC-certified sustainable fishery and means that consumers can have every confidence that the fish they are buying comes from a fishery that meets the MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing.
In addition, Southbank will utilise all of its other supply chain certifications to supply products holding Freedom Food and organic status.
“Selfridges places very strong emphasis on sustainability and we feel this contract recognises Southbank’s outstanding work in that field. It is clear that consumers want to buy seafood that adheres to strict ethical and environmental guidelines and we will be perfectly placed to provide the comprehensive, hands-on assistance that they need,” says Matthew Couchman, Sales Manager with Southbank.
Through the Southbank Sustainability Initiative (SSI), a groundbreaking strategy that was initially introduced by Couchman in 2012 to assist chefs’ understanding of sustainable seafood, the Southbank team will thoroughly research every single seafood product appearing on Selfridges’ counter, tracing it back through every stage of the supply chain to ensure the fishery is genuinely sustainably managed.
It will obtain and comprehensively document details on the catch methods of the product and where it is landed.
In addition, Southbank will establish whether sustainability or eco-label certifications are in place for that fishery and/or the specific catching vessels, as well as where the product appears on the numerous high-profile consumer ‘fish-to-eat’ and ‘fish-to-avoid’ lists that are managed by international environmental organisations.
