Since our founding in 1979, we have fostered close relationships with our suppliers and customers. We have traditionally been on the cutting edge of sustainability, supplying the UK’s first MSC canned tuna (albacore), first MSC skipjack tuna (Maldivian), and first FAD-free canned tuna to a major supermarket, and with a large percentage of our tuna purchased from pole and line fisheries. Because of the strong relationships we maintain with our suppliers, we are in a position to influence positive change in our source fisheries, crops, and farms.
Below are the base standards we will always ensure our products meet. Please note that each of our customers upholds their own strict sourcing criteria which means our products will often go above and beyond this baseline.
Endangered or Overfished Species
We will not source any species listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List (an internationally recognised database that ranks the population health of species – see http://www.iucnredlist.org/).
If a species is listed as Near Threatened, we will purchase from a certified sustainable source wherever possible. In the exceptional circumstance that this is not possible, we will examine the species’ regional stock status and/or local conservation status and preferentially source from regions where steps are being taken towards improvement..
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No Forced or Underage Labour
board, such as the Seafish Responsible Fishing
Scheme.
For more on our ethical
practices, please see our Modern
Slavery Act Statement, posted on the our
website homepage.
Tuna Products
No Shark Finning
Shark fins are a Chinese delicacy considered to have
medicinal properties.
They are one of the most expensive
fish products in the world.
'Shark finning is the practice of retaining shark fins and
discarding the
remaining carcass while at sea.’ This practice
violates the FAO Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fisheries;
further, discarding the carcasses leads
to a lack of data on
the health of shark populations.
Lovering Foods will only source from vessel owners with a published policy prohibiting shark finning and requiring sharks be landed with fins naturally attached if retained, displayed on their vessels. We will preferentially source from vessels and vessel owners who have never participated in shark finning and/or do not land all sharks with fins naturally attached if retained. In the exceptional case where this is not possible, we will only purchase from vessels at least 2 years following the date of their most recent finding. This is in line with our commitments as an ISSF Participating Company.
Dolphin Safe
We will only purchase from tuna suppliers who are
registered under the
Earth Island Institute’s Dolphin Safe
scheme. This ensures that no
dolphins or other marine
mammals were encircled by a fishing net, that no
accidental deaths or serious injuries of any dolphins
occurred, and that no
drift gill nets were used during a
fishing trip.
No Large-Scale Pelagic Driftnets
We will not source tuna caught by large-scale pelagic driftnets. This is a destructive method of fishing with high levels of bycatch. This is in accordance with the United Nations General Assembly resolution 46/215 calling for a global moratorium on large-scale pelagic driftnets.
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No Transhipment at Sea
Fishing vessels will often move their catch onto a carrier vessel so that tuna can make its way to a processing facility. When this is done at port, the local authorities can monitor and collect data on the catch to ultimately ensure overfishing is not occurring and fish has been legally caught. However, when fish are transferred at sea, there is a higher likelihood of data not being properly collected. Because of this lack of oversight, transhipment at sea is commonly linked to IUU fishing. For this reason, Lovering Foods will not source from any purse seine vessels who have transhipped at sea, unless the transhipment has been authorised by all the relevant authorities, the entire process has been overseen by an independent observer, and the catch has been sampled for data collection. This is in line with our commitments as an ISSF Participating Company.
