Fish and seafood

Fish and seafood are critical resources for our planet and all who live on it. They are also key raw materials for our pet food products which is why we work hard to ensure our fish and seafood come from responsible sources. It is why we collaborate on innovative solutions to tackle the most pressing challenges faced by the sector, such as labor conditions.

Our fish and seafood supply chain

Our approach to sourcing fish and seafood sustainably

Identifying the precise sources for fish and seafood can be challenging. Pet food, our main use of these raw materials, primarily uses fish by-products – the remnants left after fillets have been removed for human consumption. Typical traceability mechanisms for whole fish are already insufficient, and sourcing by-products makes identifying the origins even more complex.

Our fish and seafood originate from a wide variety of sources. These include wild fisheries in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean and Black seas and aquaculture farms in Austria, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and the US.

All of Nestlé Purina’s pet food products follow complete and balanced recipes that meet the nutritional needs of dogs and cats at each life stage and for many health conditions. In addition to being nutritionally beneficial, the use of fish by-products represents an environmentally and socially responsible practice as it uses all the protein sources of a fish while not competing with the human food supply.

We understand the importance of sourcing from fisheries and aquaculture farms with healthy fish and responsible labor practices. Our fish and seafood responsible sourcing work begins by working closely with our suppliers to identify the sources of our fish and seafood raw materials.

Working with our suppliers, we are moving toward a future where we can verify that the fish and seafood we source come from fisheries and farms that meet our Responsible Sourcing Standard (pdf, 2.4Mb) requirements or are progressing toward them through engagement in improvement projects. To best identify the origins of fish by-products, which make up the majority of what we use, and whole fish, our buyers work closely with their suppliers to collect relevant data. This includes information on the species, country of origin and fishery from where the fish originated, along with fishing practices. We provide all this seafood purchasing information to our independent, nonprofit partner the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) to assess the risk at the origin of our seafood supply (pdf, 300Kb).

Transparency

To hold our suppliers and ourselves accountable and drive industry-wide transparency, we have published the list of our seafood fishing zones in our supply chain and countries of origin (pdf, 83Kb).

Natural capital

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a key environmental challenge facing all of us. Nestlé reviews all the species caught to avoid seafood from IUU fishing practices or critically endangered or endangered species of fish (according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List or listed under CITES Appendix I). We also aim to ensure that none of our seafood purchases are caught with highly destructive fishing gear or methods and that they do not come from ‘no-take zones’, Marine Protected Areas or from vessels practicing transshipment at sea. We then work with our suppliers on sourcing from origins employing responsible fishing practices in line with our standards.

To support transformation at an industry level, in 2019, we became a Target 75 Champion with the SFP. Under Target 75, SFP is focused on ensuring that 75% of world production in key sectors is, at a minimum, either sustainable (i.e. certified by the Marine Stewardship Council program or green-listed in SFP’s metrics tool) or making regular, verifiable improvements.

Protecting workers

Forced labor and poor labor conditions have been identified as key challenges within the fish and seafood supply chain, representing a particular risk for Nestlé in Thailand. We work with two NGOs – Verité, which specializes in tackling labor abuses in supply chains, and the Issara Institute, which provides workers with grievance mechanisms to address these challenges.

To further improve conditions in our supply chain, we have banned transshipment at sea (transferring goods from one vessel to another while in transit), a significant risk factor for labor abuses. We are now working with our suppliers, who have committed to delivering on this.