U.S. Supermarkets Fail Seafood Sustainability Test, Says
New Greenpeace Report
First-Ever
Supermarket Ranking Identifies Best and Worst;
Group Notes Some Progress Has Been Made
WASHINGTON,
June 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a report released today,
"Carting Away the Oceans: How Grocery Stores are Emptying
the Seas," Greenpeace reveals that most U.S. supermarkets
are ignoring scientific warnings about the crisis facing global
fisheries and the marine environment when they stock their shelves
with seafood. If current trends continue, scientists predict
that global fisheries could collapse within the next forty years.
In
the first-of-a-kind report, Greenpeace ranks 20 leading supermarket
chains in the U.S. on their seafood purchasing practices and
policies. The rankings represent a new approach to tackling
the fisheries crisis, holding supermarkets, which ring up some
$16 billion per year in seafood sales, accountable for their
role in supporting unsustainable fisheries and aquaculture operations.
Overall,
supermarkets performed poorly, with even the highest scoring
companies receiving just four out of ten possible points. However,
the report shows cause for some optimism: Several large supermarkets
are developing comprehensive sustainable seafood policies and
are beginning to remove some of the most imperiled species from
their shelves.
The
top five supermarkets, none of which receive more than four
of ten possible points, include: Whole Foods Market, #1; Ahold
USA, #2; Harris Teeter, #3; Wegmans, #4; and Wal-Mart, #5. At
the bottom of the list are companies that show no evidence of
awareness of sustainability issues and the growing consumer
preference for sustainable goods. Supervalu#15, Trader Joe's,
#16; H.E. Butt, #18; Price Chopper, #19, and Publix #20 are
among the worst performing companies in Greenpeace's ranking.
The
report used a ten point rating system based on a survey of supermarkets'
seafood procurement policies, support for sustainability initiatives,
labeling and transparency, and how many "Red List"
products -- 22 of the world's most destructively fished and
farmed species -- they had for sale. For this report, Greenpeace
chose 20 national and regional supermarket leaders that fit
a range of store categories, including warehouse, conventional
and natural/gourmet formats.
To
help ensure the long-term sustainability of fisheries and marine
ecosystems, Greenpeace believes a comprehensive worldwide network
of marine reserves is urgently needed, and fisheries must be
managed using a precautionary, ecosystem-based approach.
Today,
supermarkets can help support sustainable fisheries by removing
the following kinds of seafood from their shelves:
·
Depleted fish stocks, such as bigeye, bluefin, yellowfin, and
South Atlantic albacore tunas.
·
Fisheries that jeopardize protected species by taking them as
bycatch, such as hoki, or by destroying seafloor habitats, as
with bottom trawling.
·
Vulnerable deep-sea species such as orange roughy and Chilean
sea bass.
·
Farmed products that rely on wild-caught fish for feed, those
that involve deforestation of coastal mangroves, use antibiotics
or pesticides, jeopardize wild populations through escapes or
disease, or have negative impacts on coastal communities.
To
view the report visit:
www.greenpeace.org/seafood