Shaw’s Supermarkets on Friday announced a major commitment to seafood sustainability, highlighted by the new availability of Marine Stewardship Council-certified fresh seafood products. Shaw’s is the first New England-based retailer with MSC-certified fresh seafood products.
The grocery chain will also provide fresh seafood products verified through the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI).
Shaw’s worked close with MSC and GMRI, as well as its Boston-based seafood supplier North Coast Seafood, to develop the new sustainable sourcing program. The initial MSC-certified product offerings will include sockeye, king and coho salmon, wild Alaska halibut, FAS Pacific cod, FAS Canadian flounder, and fresh Icelandic and Canadian haddock.
Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested products will include lobster, northern shrimp, cod, haddock, sea scallops and pollock. Additional fresh seafood items will be added as the program expands over time.
Shaw’s seafood experts have collectively gone through 4,500 hours of training on seafood sustainability to prepare for the program.
“A key element to providing high-quality seafood is ensuring the health of the fisheries that sustain those products,” said Mike Stigers, Shaw’s president. “By sourcing from sustainable fisheries, Shaw’s can provide our customers the confidence of knowing they are buying seafood from viable sources, with the added value they are also helping sustain seafood supply for generations to come. We are proud to be able to make this important commitment and look forward to building upon it.”
“Shaw’s commitment to MSC-certified sustainable seafood is an example of leadership at the retail level that will have a ripple effect throughout the industry. By taking this step, Shaw’s will offer customers seafood that can be traced from the Shaw’s fresh case directly back to an MSC-certified fishery, thereby supporting sustainable fisheries and the communities and livelihoods that are tied directly to the sea,” said Kerry Coughlin, MSC regional director for the Americas.
The announcement follows the public commitment made earlier this year by Supervalu, Shaw’s parent company, to source 100 percent of its top 20 wild seafood products from MSC-certified sustainable fisheries or those on a clear pathway to sustainability by 2015 through a World Wildlife Fund fishery improvement project.
