Our welfare commitments

Our policy and supplier requirements for the welfare of all fish and shellfish (including decapod crustaceans) are covered in our internal Responsible Sourcing Manual (RSM) which we require all our suppliers to comply to. We also expect our suppliers to be compliant with recognised farm assurance schemes such as Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), Global GAP and/or RSPCA. In addition to ensuring that 100% of our supply base is responsibly sourced, we are committed to the following required welfare practices for suppliers of our fish and shellfish (including decapod crustacean) species to uphold:

1. All animals to be free from routine mutilations, for example fin clipping, or eyestalk ablation for identification or any other purposes
2. No use of genetically modified stock in aquaculture
3. No use of hormones in supplied fish
4. No prophylactic use of antibiotics (including growth promotion)
5. Appropriate capture method to reduce bycatch (i.e. static gear for crab and lobster)
6. To reduce the negative effects of capture method on fish and shellfish (including decapod crustacean) welfare by adapting equipment, fishing and handling practices during and following capture in line with industry best practice*
7. Appropriate species-specific holding conditions (during post-capture, processing and at retail) *
8. Avoidance of long-duration live transportation
9. All farmed fish and shellfish to be humanely stunned and slaughtered
10. We do not and will not sell live crustaceans or any other live seafood
11. Preference is given to wild capture vessels using humane stunning systems for wild caught species

*i.e. SAGB/Seafish Codes of Practice for the Welfare of Crabs, Lobsters, Crawfish and Nephrops

Continuous improvement, innovation and milestones

To further improve the welfare of all fish and shellfish (including decapod crustaceans), farmed or wild, we are working with various industry experts, scientists and innovation companies to overcome challenges and find solutions. For example:

• We are 100% Ablation free for our chilled and frozen prawn supply chains.
• We are funding comprehensive shrimp welfare project with our partner supplier looking holistically at behavioural welfare indicators from egg to harvest for our fresh and frozen shrimp to continuously improve the welfare of our farmed prawns.
• In collaboration with shrimp welfare project and our partner supplier, we are trialling electrical stunning with all our fresh and frozen shrimp farmers and collaborating with Stirling University to verify this method at which point we will roll out fully to all our source shrimp farms, estimated end of 2026.
• We are actively engaged as a key stakeholder in and funding a project to design, develop and roll out electrical stunning on board our scampi vessels.
• 100% of our brown crab and lobster is electrically stunned prior to harvest.

Our approach

Sainsbury’s has an Agriculture Team with an in-house veterinary specialist that manages the day-to-day responsibilities of animal welfare that includes marine and shellfish. Our Head of Aquaculture and Fisheries oversees the management of decapod crustaceans and undergoes regular welfare training. Governance of our sustainability strategy is managed by our Plan for Better Steering Committee with oversight from the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Committee.

We are proud to have a collaborative and extensive certified supplier base where we can expect to work with best practices with regards to welfare. We continue to understand current practices through supplier visits and dedicate resources with aim to improve all aspects of all seafoods (including decapod crustaceans) welfare.