Partner highlights
A Deeper Dive into Data: How Migros and SFP created a methodology to increase transparency in seafood
A unique rating system, developed by SFP and Migros, is helping customers make informed choices about their seafood purchases in Migros stores throughout Switzerland.
At SFP, we look for partners who are ready to ask the big questions. When the Swiss retailer Migros approached us in 2022, they weren’t just looking to check a box on sustainability. They wanted to solve a fundamental challenge: how to bring genuine, verifiable transparency to their entire seafood counter. It was a goal that resonated deeply with our own mission.
Migros is a recognized leader in sustainability, a commitment demonstrated by its innovative M-Check sustainability rating system. Applied across all of Migros’s own-brand products, the M-Check gives customers transparent, at-a-glance information on key impacts like climate compatibility and animal welfare.
Recognizing the unique and complex challenges within seafood supply chains, Migros sought specialized expertise to ensure its M-Check seafood ratings were robust and credible. Their aim was to build a rating system, the M-Check “Fish from Responsible Sources,” that was powered by the best available science.
SFP’s role in this vision was to provide the science to back up the ratings. With our FishSource database, we brought years of global fishery and aquaculture analysis to the table. This collaboration with Migros allowed us to co-develop a methodology that could look at every single product, certified or not, and tell its story honestly. FishSource is a publicly available resource that compiles and summarizes scientific and technical information on the status of global fisheries and aquaculture operations, making it an essential tool for evaluating seafood sustainability.
The M-Check methodology in detail
The M-Check seal, showing a 5-star rating, and the words “Fish from responsible sources” in both German and French
A package of Migros own-brand Atlantic smoked salmon, showing a 4-star M-Check rating
The strength of the Migros-SFP partnership lies in the detailed, data-driven methodology we created. M-Check evaluates all fisheries and farms that supply Migros, ensuring consistency in assessment regardless of whether a product is certified or not. The system assesses wild and farmed products differently, to reflect their unique impacts:
For wild-caught fish, the assessment is built on three core pillars:
- State of the fish stock: Using data from FishSource, this pillar assesses the health and abundance of the target fish population.
- Management: This evaluates the effectiveness of the fishery’s management body.
- Environment and biodiversity: The impact of the fishing method on the wider marine ecosystem is analyzed, including bycatch and habitat effects.
For farmed fish (aquaculture, the comprehensive assessment is based on a combination of factors, to provide a holistic view of a farm’s performance:
- Zonal/area management: This evaluates how well a group of farms in a specific area work together to minimize their collective environmental impact, particularly on disease prevention and local ecosystems.
- Production method: The system differentiates between the impacts of various farming methods. For example, a land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) is assessed differently than a net-pen farm, due to their distinct environmental footprints.
- Third-party certification: The presence of a credible certification, such as from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) or an organic standard (e.g., Bio Suisse), is a critical factor. These standards are used as a proxy for good performance and are integrated directly into the evaluation.
For both wild and farmed products, each criterion is scored, and the results are averaged to generate the final one-to-five-star rating customers see on the packaging. To uphold its commitment, Migros will not sell any seafood product that scores less than two stars.
A cornerstone of the partnership is a shared dedication to transparency. The detailed assessments underpinning each product’s M-Check rating are made publicly available through SFP’s Ocean Disclosure Project.
“Our partnership with SFP enables us to go beyond simply creating a label. With the support of SFP’s expertise and tools like FishSource and Seafood Metrics, we provide our customers with transparent and reliable information about the sustainability of our products, empowering them to make informed choices. These tools also help us pinpoint areas for improvement in our supply chain and encourage fisheries and farms worldwide to adopt more sustainable and responsible practices.”
– Nicole Fischer, Sustainability Raw Material Manager (Seafood), Migros Industries
SFP Global Markets Deputy Director/Advisory Services Director Mercedes Mendoza (L) and Migros Industries Sustainability Raw Material Manager (Seafood) Nicole Fischer (R) speaking at Seafood Expo Global 2023 in Barcelona, as part of a panel on how seafood sourcing data is integral to sustainability and can drive consumer interest for retailers and seafood companies.
“What excites us most is the spirit of this partnership. It required a level of corporate courage from Migros to put its full seafood supply chain under such a detailed microscope and to make the results public through our Ocean Disclosure Project. For us at SFP, this is the blueprint for the future. It’s a story of how a committed retailer, armed with the right data and a shared vision, can set a powerful new standard for the entire industry.”
– Mercedes Mendoza, SFP Global Markets Deputy Director/Advisory Services Director
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