Many students in Wales are now eating sustainable seafood after the Cardiff Metropolitan University signed the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge, earning the city its third of the five stars required to become a Sustainable Fish City.
The 14,000 students of Cardiff Met will benefit from the new fish-sourcing policy, which ensures that all fish on sale within the university is from verifiably sustainable sources, protecting vulnerable marine environments and reducing impact upon depleting fish stocks, while supporting sustainable fishermen and fish farmers.
With immediate effect, the university has stopped sourcing products considered endangered – rated “5” – according to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Good Fish Guide, and will always consider which products are most sustainable by applying the MCS’s traffic-light rating when it buys fish.
“Students and visitors of Cardiff Met expect the best and serving sustainable food is a very important part of that. It hasn’t been difficult to implement the pledge because there are lots of sustainable fish options available now. Sustainable fish is an incredibly important issue and everyone should support this by making informed decisions,” said Andrew Phelps, catering and hospitality service manager at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Signing the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge is the latest action within the university’s sustainability action plan. This plan outlines annual targets for improvement including minimizing the waste of food and energy, increasing the campus’ biodiversity and ensuring sustainable sourcing.
Its annual environmental and sustainability policy reports highlight its continued success in fulfilling its ambition of becoming one of the United Kingdom’s leading sustainable universities through the review and development of its environmental credentials.
Cardiff Met joins a several other Cardiff-based higher educational units, including Cardiff University and The University of South Wales, to collectively earn a Sustainable Fish Cities star for Higher Education.
This is the third star in recognition of Cardiff’s sustainable fish policy, adding to the previous stars awarded for demonstrably sustainable fish served in the majority of hospitals, local authorities and schools. The pledge is a major boost for Cardiff as a city, which is aiming to become a Sustainable Fish City as part of an initiative run by Food Cardiff.
The Sustainable Fish Cities campaign, which is coordinated by Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, aims to see only verifiably sustainable fish on menus in the United Kingdom. It is currently rolled out across 16 towns and cities as part of the country’s Sustainable Food Cities network.
