Improving ocean diversity and reducing the seafood industry’s carbon emissions are at the heart of two major programs run by Cargill and Tesco, who are each spearheading initiatives to turn the tide of unsustainable aquaculture and depleted ocean stocks. 

Among its targets, Cargill’s new SeaFurther program has set a path to cut emissions from salmon farming by 30 percent. It further aims to save two billion kilograms of CO2 by 2030, while saving energy on the high seas through decarbonizing its global bulk shipping. 

Meanwhile, Tesco is striving to reach 100 percent Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified tuna by 2025. This is part of the retailer’s roadmap to transition to ecosystem-based fisheries management by 2030.

The roadmaps to improve marine biodiversity come as global fish consumption peaks driven by consumers tapping into the health benefits of seafood.

Cargill’s SeaFurther initiative is part of the company’s overall carbon commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent per metric ton of food by 2030. 

Marine biodiversity continues to be at risk from overfishing, with 94 percent of all fish stocks either overfished or at a maximum sustainable level.

SeaFurther Sustainability
Cargill’s newly launched SeaFurther initiative is part of the company’s overall carbon commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent per metric ton of food by 2030. 

The agri-food giant expects that SeaFurther alone will help save two billion kilograms of CO2 by 2030, which it says is the equivalent of removing more than 400,000 cars from the road.

“The 30 percent reduction will be calculated by comparing national industry average performance in 2017 to the actual performance of the customers each year from the time they join,” a company spokesperson tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

Cargill’s SeaFurther program will begin with salmon farmers. A recent report by Just Economics has flagged that intensive farming practices by salmon producers have cost the industry almost US$50 billion since 2013.

With the upcycling trend gaining traction, the company will work closely with its suppliers to find ways to reuse by-products, like fish trimmings that would normally be discarded.

“We recognize that reducing greenhouse gas requires major systematic change – from raw material origin to seafood consumer,” notes the spokesperson. “We anticipate that to maximize the change, investments will need to be made throughout the value chain, which can take time to arrange.”

Saving energy on high seas
Among its open water targets, Cargill has put forward a goal to reduce the environmental impact of its global bulk shipping. This comes in line with the International Maritime Organizations target to reduce decarbonize shipping by at least 50 percent by 2050.

“Improving the environmental footprint of raw material transport is an important action that can be taken by the logistics sector,” notes the spokesperson. “While logistics typically accounts for about 10 percent of the feed footprint, it is important in driving [overall] reductions.”

“Reductions of carbon emissions from sea- and land-based transport are already being made in many cases. These will be captured by this initiative as part of the reduced footprint of each supply chain.”

Since the end of 2019, Cargill has installed around US$3 million worth of energy saving equipment onboard some of its long-term charter vessels.

Cargill is also a strategic partner of ZeroNorth, a tech start-up that provides digital tools that improve vessel performance and reduce fuel consumption.

Tesco’s transition to ecosystem-based fisheries
Despite improvements in fisheries management, marine biodiversity continues to be at risk from overfishing, with 94 percent of all global fish stocks either overfished or at a maximum sustainable level.

Among the species most at risk is tuna, which is integral to the diets of millions of people around the world.

Tesco confirmed with FoodIngredientsFirst that it has set out a roadmap to transition to “ecosystem-based” fisheries management by 2030.

In 2019, 79 percent of Tesco’s UK seafood volumes were certified as sustainable by the MSC. The UK retailer is rolling out new due diligence processes across its tuna supply chain, helping them to achieve its goal of 100 percent MSC certification across its tuna ranges by 2025.

Through a partnership with the WWF and its suppliers, the company is aiming for an industry-wide adoption of the SSB40 metric to report on the health of fish stocks.

The metric will help Tesco and its suppliers to know if their fish is being sourced from a marine environment in which the amount of breeding fish present is at least 40 percent of the amount in the original populations – a key component of maintaining healthy marine ecosystems.

“Mining down tuna stocks has undermined the vital role these large fish play in in the ecosystem. We need a new holistic seascape approach with sustainable tuna sourcing,” says Marcel Kroese, WWF global tuna leader.

Critically, these endemic issues run deep – it is left up to every stakeholder along each level of the global seafood supply chain to ensure these pledges come to fruition.