At our “Fisheries and Food Policy” event, we heard from a variety of speakers on how to better connect the seafood sector with food policy and the wider food supply chain in the UK, with discussion covering the role of seafood in food security, interactions between policy and consumer behaviour, and the importance of transparency in the seafood supply chain.
Attendees heard from:
Dr Fiona Comrie - Senior Public Health Nutrition Adviser - Food Standards Scotland
Andy Hickman - Head of Seafood Ethics Action (SEA) Alliance - Seafish
George Clark - Food Policy MSc - City, University of London
Terri Portmann - Independent Fisheries Consultant
A full recording of the online event can be found here:
Following the presentations, Parliamentarians and attendees put their questions to the panel. Written summaries of all questions and answers are provided below. Please note that these answers reflect the views of the panelists, rather than the APPG Secretariat or its Members.
What are the specific things we should do to address labour abuse risks in the seafood supply chain? (Daniel Zeichner MP, Shadow Fisheries Minister)
Andy Hickman said that the use of transit visas in the fishing industry needed to be reviewed, with the industry itself having already engaged with the government on this for several years; the skilled work visa route for recruiting seafood workers could be an alternative, however, significant challenges remain. He added that it was also important to put in place grievance mechanisms and associated support, which workers would be able to access in ports and remotely.
What can we do to influence consumers’ seafood preferences, particularly when it comes to reducing reliance on Russian cod exports and tackling fish prices? (Daniel Zeichner MP, Shadow Fisheries Minister)
George Clark said that it was important to raise consumer awareness of which UK fish are available and their sustainability status, and to improve education on how to cook them.
Terri Portmann said that a new Royal Commission, similar to the “Turning the Tide” Royal Commission in 2004, could aid efforts to increase the proportion of UK-sourced seafood consumed domestically. She noted that seafood processed by a factory in the UK may bear a label for the factory on packaging, even if the seafood originated from abroad, making it more difficult for consumers to look for UK-caught seafood; Russian-caught fish was one example of this. Terri also suggested that fishers could be better-supported if the fish and chip and hospitality industries, other retailers, and government procurers were to increase the proportion of UK-caught seafood they purchased, which could in turn increase the value of fishers’ catches.
SUPPLY CHAIN ASSURANCE AND TRANSPARENCY
In addition to human rights and labour abuses on fishing vessels, does the SEA Alliance also focus on “offshoot” abuse, for example with regards to reduction fisheries?
Andy Hickman explained that the SEA Alliance aims to work across global supply chains, which includes aquaculture and reduction fisheries, as its members want it to take a broad focus.
Have any broad trends been observed, or lessons learned, from the adoption of SEA Alliance’s social welfare standards and guidelines for land- and vessel-based activities? And are there any new emerging technologies out there which could support the implementation of such standards and guidelines?
Andy Hickman said one important learning was that it is more difficult to directly engage with workers in the seafood supply chain than many other industries. He added that new tools will support collaboration with workers through direct surveys designed to obtain their feedback and identify issues; meanwhile, use of remote sensing to identify working hours and other labour elements is in the early stages of development.
Can any speakers comment on supporting decent work in fishing regardless of nationality, given that most crew are not ''UK fishermen'' in certain parts of the fleet?
Andy Hickman agreed that decent work should be a priority for all fishers in the UK, regardless of their nationality, with this being in line with the ILO Work in Fishing Convention (Convention 188), which includes the principle of equality of treatment regardless of nationality. He said that it was important to be aware of the particular challenges in the UK that migrant fishers can face in terms of the recruitment process including the widely used “transit visa” scheme, and that to safeguard the welfare of all crew, certain support and interventions are needed that are specifically designed with migrant fishers in mind (for example, access to grievance mechanisms in workers’ own languages, and sufficient checks on recruitment agencies). Andy added that the Fishermen’s Mission and Merchant Navy Welfare Board have produced a useful guide to what the ILO Work in Fishing Convention means for the UK fishing sector, and that the Seafood Ethics Action (SEA) Alliance has also issued a response to the recent by the University of Nottingham and the International Transport Workers Federation on conditions in the UK fishing sector.
SEAFOOD CONSUMER CHOICES
Can the speakers comment on the need for more investment in sustainable fisheries management in UK fisheries, to ensure that large retailers can push UK seafood to consumers while continuing to meet their commitments to selling seafood rated as sustainable?
Terri Portmann noted that the Fisheries Act 2020 requires UK fisheries to be sustainable, and that the incoming Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) will support this, although time would be needed to realise the aims of the FMPs. She said that in the meantime, consumers should be encouraged to eat UK fish, which may also reduce carbon emissions associated with importing seafood.
Many supermarkets are not promoting fresh seafood as much as they could, and some have even got rid of their fish counters. How can supermarkets be incentivised to promote healthy, UK-caught seafood?
George Clark said there were good examples of supermarkets already doing this, such as Waitrose selling Poole Harbour clams during the pandemic in recognition of consumer demand and a viable, local supply. He added that supermarkets are led by what their customers want, and thus more effective promoting of UK fisheries and species would inevitably incentivise supermarkets to stock more UK seafood. However, he acknowledged that within the context of a cost of living crisis and many supermarkets closing their fish counters, there remained a role for independent fishmongers and fish box initiatives, which could be supported by innovation and investment in manufacturing and processing.
Small businesses cannot always pay for audits in order to be able to inform their customers that they source seafood certified as sustainable. How can this barrier be overcome?
George Clark explained that in the case of businesses wishing to promote the fact that they sell Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified seafood, audits are necessary to provide assurance that the seafood being sold is traceable back to MSC certified sources. He added that audit costs can be mitigated by businesses grouping together to share costs.
Terri Portmann noted that cost is also a barrier to entry to the MSC program for small-scale fishers, and suggested that the MSC engage with Defra on making funding streams available to address this.
TV chefs can have a significant influence on consumers. Is more targeted engagement needed with this group?
George Clark agreed that TV chefs were important influencers of consumer choice, with the MSC already working with various chefs and incorporating a strong element of this into its Sustainable Seafood Week held each September. He added that more education was needed in schools.
Terri Portmann noted the industry should also consider the potential of indirect marketing through popular culture, for example consumption of UK seafood in TV dramas.
Dr Fiona Comrie cautioned against fully endorsing TV chefs as influencers for healthy eating and choosing UK-caught seafood, given that this group can at times promote unhealthy ways of cooking seafood. She also noted that TV chefs and the wider “cooking world” can be alienating to consumers who may lack kitchen space, equipment, or time, and concluded that care should be taken in selecting which influencers to invite to assist with messaging on seafood.
SEAFOOD IN DIETS
Does the advice of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) on eating seafood, which is promoted by public health body Food Standards Scotland, include shellfish as well as finfish?
Dr Fiona Comrie explained that the SACN advice included both shellfish and finfish, although recommended finfish specifically for oily fish portions, noting that shellfish is not high in Omega-3.
Has there been any reflection on the use of negative messaging encouraging people to get rid of the “bad parts” of their diet, as opposed to positive messaging about increasing consumption of healthy food?
Dr Fiona Comrie explained that generally, Food Standards Scotland has focused on negative messaging because one of the main issues with diets is the high number of calories that many people are consuming, and that influencing people to cut down on unhealthy food will have a greater impact on calorie intake than will increasing how much fish and other healthy food they add to their diet. She added that getting people to cut down on unhealthy food was often cheaper and more convenient for them than learning to cook fish and potentially paying more for this than they would for unhealthy food.
Diet recommendations such as those of Food Standards Scotland are based on health, but should they also consider other factors in terms of equity, access, and sustainability?
Dr Fiona Comrie said that Food Standards Scotland was working with the Scottish government on guidelines for healthy and sustainable diets, however, affordability can make it difficult to balance the two. She added that the public health body was keen to speak to consumers on this topic and planned to conduct attitude surveys later this year; this will build on work already done with parents, who in general say that healthiness influences their choices more than sustainability. She said that there are no plans to change recommendations on fish portions, but that there may be other changes to guidance in the future.
Is Food Standards Scotland seeing any measurable change in consumer behaviour around trying to eat a more sustainable diet?
Dr Fiona Comrie said that last year, Food Standards Scotland introduced a question to its Consumer Tracker to ask if respondents considered it important that their food is produced in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way, with 78% responding that it was; results from the 2022 survey will be published later this summer. She noted that in the survey of parents, 31% of respondents gave key consideration to environmental sustainability when buying or preparing family meals, although healthy eating was a higher priority.
How do we go about increasing fish consumption among people who hardly or never eat it, and could this be where we could create the biggest gains in terms of public health and trade?
Dr Fiona Comrie commented that fish intake, particularly oily fish intake, is low across the population and particularly low in those living in more deprived areas in Scotland. She said there were a number of challenges in encouraging increased fish consumption, not limited to taste, convenience, price and accessibility.
Should there be more focus on getting seafood into schools, starting at primary or nursery level?
Dr Fiona Comrie said that primary and secondary school lunch menus in Scotland are required to include oily fish at least every 3 weeks, and that guidelines encourage nursery schools to also include fish on their menus.