NFI: Greenpeace Sustainability Campaign Lacks Merit

The National Fisheries Institute, in an alert to its membership this morning, warned of a new Greenpeace campaign that targets the sustainability programs of the nation's biggest seafood retailers.

The industry trade group, based in McLean, Va., has reached out to the seafood buyers at many large chains to warn them of the initiative and offer information to respond to a possible assault by the renowned activist group.

As part of the campaign, Greenpeace is surveying retailers about their seafood sourcing policies and demanding the elimination of 23 species including Alaska Pollock, New Zealand hoki and Chilean sea bass from the South Georgia islands near Antarctica. The group is expected to produce a ranking of all retailers, based on their criteria, and will prepare a public report that will highlight "good" and "bad" retailers.

NFI, in its member warning, says Greenpeace's list of species to avoid is without scientific merit and includes some of the worldâ??s best-managed wild species (some certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council) and responsibly produced farmed species.

If retailers followed Greenpeace's dictates, according to NFI, approximately 47 percent of the seafood Americans eat would be taken out of supermarket seafood departments.

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