The National Park Service (NPS) on Friday announced it wants food and beverage concessionaires to make the shift to sustainable seafood.
The NPS will use the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program to guide purchasing decisions for more than 250 culinary operations in 75 national parks in the U.S.
The sustainable food guidelines were released last week as part of Health Parks, Healthy People initiative that requires foodservice operators to begin offering healthy food operations and to incorporate more sustainably-sourced ingredients.
The guidelines specify that where seafood options are offered they must be “best choices” or “good alternatives” on the Seafood Watch list, certified by the Marine Stewardship Council or identified by an equivalent program that has been approved by the NPS.
“There’s a clear shift in the market as more major buyers expect their seafood to come from environmentally responsible sources,” said Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly, Seafood Watch director. “The National Park Service commitment is no exception — an we look forward to working more closely with concessionaires to bring ocean-friendly seafood to millions of national park visitors.”
