Asian supermarket bans shark products!
Despite its small size, Singapore consumes an average of 100,000 tonnes of seafood each year. As a result, any changes to their sourcing policies, good or bad can have a significant effect on fish stocks. Fortunately, in this case, Singapore based supermarket, Cold Storage, who have made the decision to stop selling all shark and shark fin related products as well as promising to stock more sustainable seafood is excellent news.
In conjunction with WWF and the Marine Stewardship Council, the CEO of Cold Storage, Mr Victor Chia, stated the following: “We want to play our part towards caring for the environment. Our team is committed to sourcing for quality, sustainable seafood and other products in our efforts to achieve long-term sustainability and marine conservation.”
Given seafood is big business it is a surprise that other companies like this one are not more willing take such steps to protect fish stocks. After all, they will be as adversely affected as the general public by collapsing stocks in years to come and the signs suggest that at current rates of fishing we may not have to wait long before we see collapses similar to those experienced off Newfoundland, Canada, in the early 1990’.
Cold storage is a subsidiary of Dairy Farm, a leading Asian food company that employs around 80,000 people. This decision makes it the first company to declare a shark free policy in Singapore and it is hoped that others will now follow. Ms Amy Ho, Managing Director, WWF Singapore said: “WWF is happy to support Cold Storage in its efforts to make its retail operations more sustainable and promote responsible consumption in Singapore. For a nation where seafood is a popular meal choice, Cold Storage’s commitment offers consumers an opportunity to make choices that will protect fish stocks and endangered marine species over the long term.”
Mr Patrick Caleo, Country Manager Australia and New Zealand, Marine Stewardship Council, said: “The Marine Stewardship Council applauds Cold Storage’s efforts to provide customers with the choice of purchasing seafood sourced from sustainable fisheries, and we look forward to working with them in their efforts to offer MSC certified wild-caught seafood products across their stores in the future. As a result of Cold Storage’s efforts thousands of Singaporeans will have access to sustainable seafood which is a great development, and the company should be commended for playing its part in safeguarding seafood stocks for future generations.”
Please click here for the full WWF article.
