Greenpeace today released a 56-page report criticizing Canadian retailers for failing to implement adequate sustainable seafood purchasing policies and thus protect the marine environment.
Titled "Out of Stock: Supermarkets and the Future of Seafood," the report targets Canada's eight largest supermarket chains - Loblaws, Sobey's, Metro, Wal-Mart, Costco, Safeway, Overwaitea and Federated Cooperatives - for selling "red list" species that are unsustainably or destructively fished or farmed.
Greenpeace is calling on the retailers to stop selling Atlantic cod, Atlantic salmon, Atlantic sea scallops, Chilean sea bass, haddock, hoki, swordfish and bigeye, bluefin and yellowfin, among other species. The eco-activist group says Loblaws and Sobey's sell all the red list species.
Greenpeace also today unveiled a 77-page report, titled "Carting Away the Oceans: How Grocery Stores are Emptying the Seas," ranking 20 U.S. retailers according to their sustainable seafood purchasing policies. Supervalu, Trader Joe's, Meijer, H.E. Butt, Price Chopper and Publix were at the bottom of the list, while Whole Foods Market, Ahold USA, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, Wal-Mart and Target were at the top.
Earlier this month, a survey commissioned by Greenpeace revealed that seven out of 10 Canadians believe they are not sufficiently informed by their supermarkets about seafood production, and that almost three-quarters of Canadians say they would buy seafood from sustainable sources if properly informed.
Both the Canadian and U.S. reports are part of the sustainable seafood campaign Greenpeace launched during the International Boston Seafood Show in February.
The Canadian report is available at www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/oceans/resources/documents/out-of-stock
A logo featuring a silhouette of a fish imprinted on red bar code and the phrase "Out of Stock" was launched in conjunction with the report. The logo can be downloaded at www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/out-of-stock-the-report.
