Photo: © FAO

Muğla – Since 1990, Metro Türkiye has engaged in activities to support sustainable fisheries and increase fish consumption. Last year, a new project was launched to support small-scale fisheries under the slogan “Small in Scale, Big in Value”. Nearly 30 tonnes of trout were produced through the project, and since March these have begun to reach consumers in restaurants and Metro Türkiye stores. The project was launched in 2022 as part of the “International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA)” in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Muğla Trout Breeders Association.

Deniz Alkaç, Member of the Board of Directors Responsible for Purchasing at Metro Türkiye, explained the rationale behind the project: “At Metro Türkiye, we carry out pioneering activities in many areas – from traceability to animal welfare, and from preventing food waste to sustainable fishing and supporting local producers and products. We see fish not only as a commercial product but as a resource to conserve for future generations. To ensure the sustainability of the fish in our seas, we must prioritize aquaculture. To this end, we have maintained sustainable fisheries at the forefront of our purchasing policy, and have launched several important projects to protect fish stocks and species in the seas”.

Supporting small and traditional family fisheries

The first outcomes of the collaborative project have just started to materialize. Alkaç underlined the importance of this collaboration, explaining that Metro Türkiye, “believes that greater efficiency is achieved when we work together with producer associations and cooperatives on production-oriented projects”. “With this joint project”, he explained, “which we launched within the scope of IYAFA 2022, we are contributing to the protection of small and traditional family fisheries, helping them to sustain their contribution to the establishment of healthier food systems through responsible and sustainable use of fisheries and aquaculture resources.” Alkaç also emphasized the challenges that small-scale fisheries face: “Small-scale traditional fisheries and aquaculture are negatively affected by factors such as climate change, environmental deterioration and are in need of greater commercial motivation. We are happy to raise awareness of these issues and to provide support within the scope of IYAFA 2022.”

Providing food safety and social compliance training

A key component of the project was training and field trips. Alkaç provided some details: “We organized a one-day training session for 25 small-scale trout producers in the region covering topics such as safe food definitions, good aquaculture practices, personnel hygiene, cleaning and sanitation, pest control, net controls, biosecurity measures, feed management, facility and equipment maintenance, treatment, fish health and welfare, harvesting, packaging, product processing and waste management. Another training session focused on ‘Social Compliance in the Trout Value Chain’, covering basic social compliance principles such as the inclusion and protection of employees in enterprises, freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, non-discrimination, fair wages, decent working hours, occupational health and safety, prevention of child labour and precarious work, environmental protection and ethical business behaviour. We believe that these training sessions make a significant contribution to producers. In addition, we have provided technical and counselling support for cultivation to support producers through direct purchases and purchase guarantees, and to introduce heightened quality standards for traditional methods of aquaculture.”

Piloting the project in five traditional enterprises

The initial pilot project involved five small businesses, four producers and one packaging facility. As Alkaç explains, “we undertook preliminary audits to determine the food safety and social compliance levels of these businesses. Metro Türkiye Quality Assurance Authorized Managers then provided on-site training and technical support over a five-day period to overcome identified deficiencies. In addition, measures were taken to ensure fair working conditions and to implement occupational health and safety practices in the enterprises. Follow-up audits were organized for food safety and social compliance, which all the enterprises passed successfully. In addition, independent accredited laboratories analysed the products for shelf life and compliance with legal food safety criteria.”

Alkaç also emphasized that all the enterprises involved have improved their existing systems to meet required quality, hygiene, food safety and working conditions criteria in order to become a Metro supplier. “As a result”, he explained, “we have started to source trout from selected producers through the Muğla Trout Breeders Association, which have now started to appear in Metro Türkiye stores. Businesses that meet these conditions have been able to provide trout not only to Metro but also to the domestic and exports markets. By contributing to the development of small-scale producers, the project has also enhanced the general sustainability of the sector. And by working with the Muğla Trout Breeders Association, we are raising the standards of every affiliated producer. Furthermore, we are open to working with more producers in the future, depending on demand.”

Increasing trout consumption in professional kitchens

Looking ahead, Alkaç makes the point that, “trout is an asset for future generations – and one we must conserve. Metro Türkiye is focused on increasing the recognition and use of trout, especially in professional kitchens. At Gastronometro, Türkiye’s first gastronomy discovery platform, which we launched eight years ago, our chefs prepare special recipes using trout, with a focus on the food and beverage sector. Increasing the use of modern as well as traditional recipes in professional kitchens will make a significant contribution to trout breeding. Moreover, we are certain that trout will find a place in more and more professional kitchens in the near future, resulting in a wide range of flavourful dishes.”

FAO supporting trout producers

FAO Senior Programme Coordinator Özcan Türkoğlu spoke about the motivation behind the project partnership with Metro Türkiye: “As the lead organization of IYAFA 2022, FAO carried out a range of different activities last year. Our collaboration with Metro Türkiye was aimed specifically at supporting small-scale fishermen in Muğla province and raising awareness of the potential of trout farming. Small-scale fisheries and aquaculture make a significant contribution to the consumption of healthy, safe, affordable and nutritious seafood as part of global and local food systems. Within this framework, FAO recognizes the importance of access to near and distant markets, adequate production and logistical infrastructure, and the creation of inclusive value chains in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture. Moreover, by supplying high-quality fish products at affordable prices, fish catchers and labourers promote local economic development and create additional jobs. The training we organized with Metro Türkiye on food safety and social compliance in small-scale trout farming has supported the sustainability of small-scale trout farms and increased the awareness and knowledge of sustainability among family-owned small-scale trout farms. We are furthermore happy to have helped trout, one of Türkiye’s most important aquaculture products, gain the recognition it deserves and become the preferred choice among a wide range of consumers.”

Hüseyin Yıldırım, President of the Muğla Trout Breeders Association,confirmed the importance of the project, emphasizing that it “has been highly beneficial in terms of adapting the traditional production of small-scale family businesses to meet the demands of the food supply chain.” He also noted that the project “will improve the socio-economic and technical capacities of small businesses in the future, and over the long term will lead to the expansion of trout farming and contribute to the transformation of aquaculture production, with a stronger focus on environment, people and community, and a greater emphasis on producer organizations.”

About Metro Türkiye

Founded in 1964 in Germany and today serving more than 30 countries, the international retail company Metro has been operating in Türkiye since 1990. Metro Türkiye employs nearly 4 000 people in 37 stores in 21 cities across the country. The company works to preserve Turkish culinary culture and values, so that they can be passed onto future generations, ensuring that Turkish cuisine and chefs take their rightful place in the world.

In addition to its store operations, Metro Türkiye also provides food delivery services to professional customers in nearly 70 cities through its Food Delivery Operation and offers up to 30 000 food and non-food products to consumers and HORECA (hotel, restaurant, café) businesses, with an emphasis on price, quality and performance.

Metro Türkiye is also the winner of the Sustainable Business Award, and endeavours to conserve local values for future generations. It has made sustainable advances in meat, fish, honey and fruit and vegetable traceability, sustainable animal husbandry, fisheries, cage-free chicken eggs, food waste and Geographically Indicated Products.

Metro Türkiye is the first and only company in Türkiye to hold the internationally recognized IFS Cash & Carry/Wholesale + IFS Logistics combined certificate, which is based on the establishment of a “Farm to Table” food safety management system. Metro Türkiye is also the first and only retailer in Türkiye to hold the ASC-MSC CoC Group certification, a sustainable fishery standard. In addition, Metro Türkiye has obtained ISO 14001 certification, which provides guidance on identifying environmental factors in production processes from raw materials to the delivery of the product to the customer. The company then minimizes damage to the environment by controlling these factors.