Sustainability

Trusted Catch: Preserving our Resources for Future Generations

Sourced Responsibility

Gorton’s is committed to protecting and enhancing the sustainability of seafood resources and is working actively to support this under our Trusted Catch program. Trusted Catch encompasses all of our sustainability initiatives, from sustainable seafood sourcing to other green efforts including a more efficient plant and distribution network.

Regardless of where our seafood is caught and processed, Gorton’s uses the same strict, rigorous quality control processes to ensure that we provide you with the safest, most wholesome and delicious seafood products on the market – not only for today, but for generations to come.

Trusted Catch: The Gorton's Way

Environmental responsibility and preserving our natural resources goes beyond our long-time commitment to sustainable fishing practices; it is woven into our core philosophy, the Gorton’s Way. One of the key tenets of the Gorton’s Way is a commitment to always doing things right and to doing the right things. This includes reducing the environmental impact of the work we do and the products we make. As a leader in seafood, we believe that we must also be a leader in environmentally responsible practices, and set a positive example in our industry and our communities. READ MORE

For years, Gorton’s has been an industry leader in sustainability practices, and now we are working to make our efforts more transparent and visible to you, our consumers, under our Trusted Catch program. This program incorporates all of our environmental efforts under one umbrella, and includes our close partnership with the New England Aquarium. With their help, we have identified areas of strengths in our sustainability program, as well as areas for continued improvement within our seafood supply. We stand behind the promise that our consumers can "Trust the Gorton's Fisherman." This promise is at the core of everything we do, and applies not only to the quality of products we make, but to how we make them. Gorton's actively supports environmentally responsible management of our natural resources as a way to ensure that our consumers will always have access to healthy, quality seafood products well into the future. CLOSE

"Gorton's is committed to sourcing sustainable seafood and supporting continuous improvement in all of the fisheries and farms they buy from. By working together, we are raising the bar for the seafood industry and helping to ensure the future of the species Gorton's relies on. New England AquariumThrough our partnership, we are making real strides toward seafood sustainability and protecting the health of our oceans."

—Heather Tausig, Assoc. VP of Conservation, New England Aquarium

Environment: Seafood Sustainability

Gorton's recognizes that the increased demand for seafood can put significant pressure on our natural resources. Gorton’s, in collaboration with important partners like the New England Aquarium (NEAq), proactively influences seafood sourcing to minimize harm to the surrounding ecosystems. We recognize that future generations are relying on us to make responsible decisions today that will allow for the long-term economic health and environmental integrity of our seafood resources. READ MORE

As a global leader in seafood, Gorton's is committed to protecting and enhancing the sustainability of seafood resources and is acting responsibly to address this by:
Purchasing from environmentally responsible fisheries, farms and suppliers
Working with our suppliers to ensure appropriate traceability and continuous environmental improvement
Encouraging innovation in developing new sources of sustainable seafood
Identifying collaborative partnership opportunities both within and outside the seafood industry and supporting the scientific research needed to advance a sustainable seafood supply
Advocating for responsible fishery and farm management practices through our active participation in federal, state and local management bodies and with conservation organizations and leading trade associations
Communicating our progress with measurable performance indicators in relation to our commitment to advance seafood sustainability
The consideration of seafood sustainability is an integral part of Gorton's responsible sourcing strategies and operations. Our seafood resources will be safeguarded for the future if we all work together to protect and properly manage the world's marine resources, habitats, and ecosystems. CLOSE

Sustainability Partnerships

Located in America’s oldest seaport, Gloucester, Massachusetts, Gorton’s has been in the seafood business for over 160 years. We are dedicated to preserving the health of the worldwide seafood supply for generations to come. Gorton’s has partnered with multiple organizations to collaborate on these efforts, including the highly regarded New England Aquarium (NEAq).

The Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Program aims to protect the ocean’s resources by raising public awareness and working with industry leaders such as Gorton’s to advance sustainable practices within both wild capture fisheries and aquaculture operations. Our partnership began in 2008 when we asked the New England Aquarium to perform a full audit of our sourcing procedures and advise us on ways in which we could continue to strengthen our practices. Gorton’s works actively with the NEAq to incorporate scientific best practices into our all of our sourcing decisions and has helped us to determine the actions necessary to ensure the sustainability of our seafood supply. READ MORE

"The New England Aquarium is committed to marine conservation and ocean health. We value our partnership with Gorton's because the seafood choices we make have a profound impact on our oceans. Gorton's is committed to sourcing sustainable seafood and supporting continuous improvement in all of the fisheries and farms they buy from. By working together, we are raising the bar for the seafood industry and helping to ensure the future of the species Gorton's relies on. Through our partnership, we are making real strides toward seafood sustainability and protecting the health of our oceans."
-Heather Tausig, Assoc. VP of Conservation, New England Aquarium CLOSE

Social Responsibility

Gorton’s believes that all employees, as well as all employees of our supply chain partners, deserve to be treated in a respectful and dignified manner. To help achieve this we have established workplace and employment standards to assist all managers and suppliers in meeting our expectations as it relates to the treatment and working conditions of employees. Gorton’s strongly believes that all of our suppliers should follow the same philosophy regarding compliance with the law, upholding high standards of business conduct, and ethical treatment of employees. READ MORE

All suppliers are required to review, sign and comply with the Gorton’s Workplace and Employment Standards Policy annually. This policy is a comprehensive document that addresses work place standards and ethical treatment of employees, and it states our intolerance of slavery and human trafficking. The major policies in the standard include:
Provision of a safe and healthy workplace environment
Reasonable working hours and fair compensation in compliance with local law
No discriminatory practices or any type of child, prison, or forced labor practices
As part of Gorton’s continued improvement towards building and strengthening our supply chain, we are in the process of enhancing our supplier accountability standards and procedures for suppliers that fall short of meeting our company workplace and employment standards. We continue to work with a third party social responsibility consultant to help us identify potential program improvements and to help us conduct comprehensive assessments of suppliers and countries.
Currently, we rely on our suppliers to do their own social responsibility assessments to evaluate compliance with standards for human trafficking and slavery, and we request copies of any independent audits that are conducted annually.

Another component of our continuous improvement program is to provide better training and education to our suppliers and company employees on this subject. Gorton’s educates affected personnel through formal training programs and by continuous communication to our suppliers as to our expectations regarding workplace and employment standards.
The happiness and well-being of all employees throughout our entire supply chain is important to Gorton’s. We believe that it is our responsibility to partner with suppliers that implement proper workplace and employment standards for all its employees. Gorton’s believes this is essential to our role as a trusted global corporate citizen. CLOSE

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Trusted Catch? READ ANSWER

Trusted Catch encompasses all of our sustainability initiatives, from sustainable seafood sourcing to green efforts including a more efficient plant and distribution methods. CLOSE

Why is Gorton’s launching Trusted Catch now? READ ANSWER

Gorton’s has been in the seafood business for over 160 years. As part of our “Gorton’s Way” we have always strived to do the right things, and that includes making educated sourcing decisions based on scientific best practices. We have been working diligently behind the scenes for years, using our influence within the industry to enact change, and most recently with our partner, the New England Aquarium, to continue to improve our sourcing practices. We’ve launched Trusted Catch to communicate these efforts and outline our progress. CLOSE

Is the packaging used for Gorton’s products recyclable? READ ANSWER

The resealable bags used on some of our top selling items, including Beer Batter Fillets and Crunchy Fish Sticks, are recyclable. The cartons used on the remainder of our line are recyclable in select areas because the inner lining of the cartons is coated with wax to protect the product throughout our distribution channels. CLOSE

Where does Gorton’s source its fish from? READ ANSWER

Because different species require different temperatures and growing conditions, Gorton’s sources its fish from numerous countries around the globe. The majority of our fish products are ocean-caught species, caught primarily in the Bering Sea that lies between Alaska and Russia.
Regardless of where our seafood is caught and processed, Gorton's uses the same strict, rigorous quality control processes, to ensure that we provide you with the safest, most wholesome and delicious seafood products on the market. CLOSE