IW CAPITAL FUNDED GLOBAVISTA BACKS UK SUPERMARKETS PLEDGE TO DISCLOSE SEAFOOD SOURCES
IW Capital funded Globavista, the innovative fishing and vessel monitoring systems provider, fully endorse the latest news that UK supermarkets are increasing transparency over the sourcing of their seafood products. The report last week that three major UK supermarkets are working as part of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) is good news for Globavista.
Globavista’s funding was completed by IWC in 2013 under the Enterprise Investment Scheme. Investment highlights include its proprietary vessel fleet tracking software, specialist technical knowledge and high barriers to entry into its specialised marine and fishery markets. Globavista’s ERS (Electronic Catch Reporting System) is currently used worldwide, including by the UK’s Fisheries Departments, to monitor and track fishing vessels, providing knowledge and accurate information to regulators, boat owners, wholesalers, retailers and ultimately to the consumer buying their weekly seafood at the market stall or from the supermarket shelf.
The three participating supermarkets are Asda (part of Walmart), Morrisons and the Co-operative Food, while aquaculture feed manufacturers Biomar and Skretting are also taking part. Each company has reported the fisheries from which they bought fish and shellfish in 2014 along with information about the management of each fishery, environmental impacts and the presence of third party certifications and improvement projects.
Greenpeace has welcomed the supermarkets’ involvement in the project. “This is a huge step in the right direction,” added Will McCallum, head of oceans, Greenpeace UK. “The more open retailers are about their sources, the more empowered customers are to identify sustainably-sourced fish and shop with confidence. Such disclosures also help to shed light on the often murky waters of the seafood industry and show where improvements can be made.”