It tastes great, it’s offered at a fair price, and it’s a leadership example of sustainable sourcing. If we had to pick a single product for which we have made great strides towards assuring the sustainability of our supply over the last several years, it would be the Filet-O-Fish. It’s simply proof positive that a sustainable approach is not just the right thing to do, but the right thing to do for our business.
With expert guidance from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, our Sustainable Fisheries program defines sustainability standards that guide all of our purchases worldwide for wild-caught fish. When poorly-rated fisheries do not make improvements in a reasonable timeline, we will move our purchases away from that source. In 2007, for instance, our System ceased sourcing Russian Alaskan Pollock due to serious concerns about stock status and management quality.
But our goal is not just to get away from unsustainable sources - it is to promote their improvement.
Eastern Baltic Cod provides a great example of how this approach can achieve sustainable progress. McDonald’s moved away from Eastern Baltic Cod several years ago due to sustainability concerns. Through leadership from our European supplier, Espersen, and many other stakeholders, the Eastern Baltic Cod fishery has shown significant improvement and recently completed pre-assessment for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. It also now meets our own sustainability standards and will be accepted again as supply for our Filet-O-Fish sandwiches.
It is these types of results that led to Gary Johnson, Senior Director of McDonald's Worldwide Supply Chain, to be recognized on behalf of McDonald’s as one of six recipients of the 2009 Seafood Choices Alliance Seafood Champions Award for work in advancing the marketplace for eco-friendly seafood.
In 2009, we began making some improvements in the way we collect data from our suppliers about the fisheries from which they source our fish, so we have a few modifications to the 2007 data that was published in our 2008 report, the major change being in the Environment and Biodiversity category, where our green ratings were much higher than previously reported. Still, more than 91% of all McDonald’s fish originated from fisheries with zero unsatisfactory (red) ratings.1
In 2008, we continued to show improvements in our sustainability profile. Our percentage of sources from green fisheries went up and in total, and more than 98% of all McDonald’s fish originated from fisheries with zero unsatisfactory (red) ratings.2
External validation
McDonald’s standards are consistent with the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) principles of environmentally responsible and sustainable fishing. The vast majority of McDonald’s fish is already sourced from MSC-certified fisheries. McDonald’s is supporting efforts of remaining supply fisheries to seek additional verification of their own sustainability through MSC or other credible, third-party certification programs.
[1] Measured in metric tons of fish blocks purchased by our suppliers.
[2] Measured in metric tons of fish blocks purchased by our suppliers.
