Avoiding illegally caught fish
Icelandic group support the growing international movement to stop trade in illegally caught seafood. We ensure our suppliers can fully comply with the certification standards demanded by the EU and other governments. We are calling for the global adoption of these certificates and their use in fishmeal and fish oil, so there are no homes left for illegally caught seafood.

We choose suppliers who operate in an open and responsible manner and can provide us with traceability to vessels that have legal access to the fishery.

Avoiding endangered fish
Icelandic Group is not involved in the processing of or trading in fish species that are threatened with extinction and are legally protected.

Whaling
Icelandic group companies do not participate in the catching of whales, or the processing or trade of whale meat or any of its by-products.

Sourcing from sustainable fisheries
There are many examples of well managed fisheries that are administered by governmental or inter-governmental bodies in conformance with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995). The increasing numbers of fisheries that have been certified against the FAO code is good news to celebrate. Equally there are still many fish stocks under pressure due to overfishing.

Icelandic Group bases its global business on the sale of products from stocks utilised in a sustainable manner, by means of a proper fishery management system. Where possible this shall be based on scientific assessment, and administered by governmental or inter-governmental bodies in conformance with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995).

We encourage fisheries to achieve certification to an independent and credible standard based on the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995). Icelandic group policy is to support and positively influence the fisheries we buy from.

In many cases we select specific groups of boats for their best practice fishing methods and for the way they look after the catch.

Icelandic Group actively lobbies for the introduction of Long Term Management Plans (LTMP’s) in fisheries. These are plans to maintain fish stocks on a long term basis at levels capable of producing maximum yields.

Discards and by-catch
Some fishery management systems allow fishermen to throw overboard dead fish that are under the legal minimum catch size or fish for which the boat does not have a quota. This practice is not allowed in many fisheries including those in Iceland and Norway.

Icelandic Group is calling for all fisheries to be managed in a way that both minimises the catches of unwanted fish through selected fishing methods and allows their retention and sale to avoid waste. The income generated could be used as funds to invest in fisheries science.

By-catch is the inevitable catch of fish and shellfish that are swimming with the fish being targeted. Fisheries managed using a ecosystem approach allow for by-catch when setting fishing effort controls. Icelandic Group encourages the adoption of ecosystem fishery management.

Sourcing farmed fish and shellfish
Icelandic Group have actively supported the development and widespread adoption of certification standards for aquaculture, including the Global GAP and the Global Aquaculture Alliance (BAP) farming standards.

We participate in the WWF Aquaculture dialogues and welcome the establishment of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

Our own tilapia farms were amongst the first to achieve certification by the Global Aquaculture Alliance to the BAP standard.

Icelandic Group employs trained auditors who can assess fish or shellfish farming operations against our own standards or specific customer criteria.

Offering consumers reassurance and choice
Icelandic Group can supply information about the origin of our fish, such as catch method or farm location, to help consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

Our factories have obtained chain of custody certification for the certified fisheries and farms that we buy from.

Traceability
Aquaculture products are traceable back to the farm site and the records at the farm show traceable movements and origins back to parent stocks. Wild caught fish are traceable back either to the catching vessel or a known group of vessels and their landing ports. Where required for legal compliance or certification this will include the specific catch area.

Icelandic Group factories have invested in computer and labelling systems to ensure that all of our fish is fully traceable within our factories.

Food safety
The wholesomeness of seafood products is best secured by means of a clean marine environment and good manufacturing practices, which include correct sanitation procedures in handling and processing and a thorough understanding of the factors which may cause contamination of the product.

Icelandic Group demands that the products we sell meet uniform high safety and quality standards.

Icelandic Group's quality inspectors and auditors visit supplier factories, vessels, and farms to check them against specifications for good manufacturing practices. These protect our customers from food safety problems such as foreign materials and microbiological contamination.

Energy use / Carbon footprint
Icelandic Group companies have individual programmes to reduce the energy used to make our products.

We are supporting research into seafood supply chain carbon emission analysis and reduction.

Our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint will be balanced by the equally important long term need to feed global populations with highly nutritious seafood. It will always be necessary to transport fish from the remote growing and catching areas to the populations that need to consume the fish.

Packaging and waste reduction
Icelandic Group companies are tasked with meeting annual reductions in waste of all kinds. We are committed to stop food and packaging waste from going to landfill through waste minimisation, reuse and recycling.

We continually review our packaging materials and supply chains to:

• Increase the percentage of recycling within the chain we control (e.g., collecting cardboard cases from retail stores for immediate recycling into new cases)
• Increase recycling by consumers by simplifying the packaging and making it easier to recycle
• Reduce the weight of packaging
• Increase the use reusable / washable containers between our suppliers and our factories
• Increase the use of biodegradable packaging

Ethical and social standards within our supply base
Icelandic Group base our policy on the minimum acceptable standards on the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) base Code of Conduct.

Where audits are required by our risk assessments, we commission them from independent auditors who use the international standard on ethical trading, SA 8000.

We take a precautionary approach and only trade with companies that are committed to achieving their ethical, social, environmental, financial, and humanitarian responsibilities.

Icelandic Group CSP Policy

Download the latest Icelandic Group CSP policy (PDF).