Winn-Dixie owner becomes first retailer in North America to earn IPNLF membership

Southeastern Grocers LLC, which owns a series of popular grocery store chains including BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys and Winn-Dixie, has become the first North American retail member of the International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) – a non-profit organization committed to supporting one-by-one tuna fisheries.

To coincide with its new IPNLF status, Southeaster Grocers has launched an exclusive private label pole-and-line canned albacore tuna product, Fisherman’s Wharf. The can for the offering bears the IPNLF’s ‘Supporting Member’ logo, and can be found on BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys and Winn-Dixie shelves for USD 2.49 (EUR 2.28) per can.

“At Southeastern Grocers, we know how important it is to support sustainable fisheries and we are very pleased to be the first North American retail member of the International Pole & Line Foundation," Southeastern Grocers President and CEO Ian McLeod. 

The retailer has become the IPNLF’s 42nd member overall, and its inclusion in the nonprofit association reflects “a further step in [the company’s] on-going support for environmentally and socially responsible tuna fisheries and for improved tuna management worldwide,” it said. 

“It is fantastic to have our first retail member in the U.S. market on board with our mission to see coastal tuna fishing communities thrive alongside healthy ocean ecosystems,” IPNLF Director of Policy and Outreach Adam Baske. “We look forward to working with Southeastern Grocers to further demonstrate the value of sourcing from one-by-one tuna fisheries, and encourage other retailers in North America to join this collaborative effort.”

Fisheries associations, processors, foodservice representatives and retailers can all apply to join the IPNLF, but they must be involved in the one-by-one tuna supply chain. 

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