Sustainable Seafood

Responsibly Sourced Seafood

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Our commitment

At Lidl, we are committed to sourcing our farmed and wild-caught fish and seafood from responsibly managed farms and fisheries.

It’s important to us that supplies of fish and seafood are safeguarded for future generations. We work hard to ensure that the fish we sell is sourced from healthy stocks and caught using the least destructive fishing methods. We do this by working with suppliers, NGOs, and wider industry partners to ensure that high environmental and social standards are being met throughout the supply chain.

Our fish and seafood policy

Our goals

Sourcing responsibly

Sourcing 100% of our own-brand fresh, frozen, and tinned seafood from responsibly managed fisheries and farms

Industry collaboration

We're proud to participate in industry initiatives that drive sustainable supply chains

Maintaining transparency

 Through our commitment to the Ocean Disclosure Project, we're transparent about where we source our farmed and wild-caught fish and seafood from

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Our approach

  • For over 10 years, we’ve been working with industry partners and suppliers to source our fish and seafood from responsibly managed fisheries and farms across our supply chain.
  • Today, we are proud to offer our customers fish and seafood that is independently certified to specific standards from the following certifications schemes: Global G.A.P (GGN), Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP).
  • We do not permit the live sale of decapod crustaceans in our stores.

GGN Label

Our Lighthouse Bay fresh farmed salmon fillets carry the GGN label. The GGN label confirms that products were farmed in line with certified good farming practices which meet criteria across food safety, environmental protection, animal welfare, social responsibility, and supply chain transparency. By including the GGN label on pack, customers can easily identify the products that come from farms certified to these standards.    

As of May 2023, Lidl is the first UK retailer to use the GGN label on its fresh salmon fillets. A GGN label can be found on our Lighthouse Bay fresh salmon fillet packs, giving shoppers confidence that these products come from responsibly managed farms.

The map below identifies the regions that we source our GGN certified, fresh farmed salmon fillets from:

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Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

A wide range of our fresh, tinned and frozen fish range is certified to the MSC’s standard of sustainable fishing.

The MSC is an international non-profit organisation on a mission to stop overfishing. For over 25 years, they have been working with fisheries, seafood companies, retailers and scientists to help protect the oceans around us and safeguard seafood supplies.   

When shoppers buy our products carrying the blue MSC ecolabel, they are choosing fish that comes from well-managed fisheries which meet regular sustainability targets. They are also helping to protect fishermen’s livelihoods, communities and traditions.

We are proud to have won the MSC UK Mid-sized Store Retailer of the Year award for seven years in a row and continue to work closely with the MSC to offer products at affordable prices for our customers.

Winner MSC Marketing Campaign 2019

Winner MSC Mid-Sized Retailer of the Year 2019

Winner MSC Mid-Sized Retailer of the Year 2018

Winner MSC Marketing Campaign 2017

Winner MSC Mid-Sized Retailer of the Year 2017

Winner MSC Mid-Sized Retailer of the Year 2016

Winner MSC Mid-Sized Retailer of the Year 2020

Winner MSC Mid-Sized Retailer of the Year 2021

Winner MSC Mid-Sized Retailer of the Year 2022

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Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)

The ASC label only appears on food from farms that have been independently assessed and certified as being environmentally and socially responsible. ASC standards set strict requirements for responsible farming, which encourage seafood producers to minimise the key environmental and social impacts of aquaculture.

The current eleven ASC standards cover 17 species groups: abalone; bivalves (clams, mussels, oyster, scallop); flatfish, freshwater trout; pangasius; salmon; seabass, seabream, meagre; seriola and cobia; shrimp; tilapia, and tropical marine finfish.

We are proud to offer a range of ASC certified products; in 2021 we won the ASC UK Retailer Award for having the highest percentage of farmed products certified to their standard.

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Our partners

Project UK is a collaboration between the fishing sector, NGOs and the seafood supply chain. It aims to improve the sustainability of UK fisheries – in line with MSC standards - by implementing Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs).

At Lidl GB, we encourage suppliers to support FIPs as part of their sustainability strategy and risk assessment procedures. In 2018, we made a 5-year commitment to contribute towards the funding of the Project UK Fisheries Improvements Stage 2 (PUKFI S2) project. This project will support the long-term sustainable sourcing of Nephrops in the North Sea (Northern NS and Southern NS), Irish Sea and West of Scotland.

Global Ghost Gear Initiative

We are a member of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, a cross-sectoral alliance of organisations dedicated to solving the problem of abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear on a global scale. The GGGI aims to improve the health of marine ecosystems; safeguard human health and livelihoods; and protect marine life from harm.

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