Do you know where your seafood comes from?
Sustainable seafood practices have gained momentum in the past few years as more and more species have become over-fished and run the risk of becoming endangered or extinct.
Purchasing seafood from grocery stores with sustainable seafood practices and policies is the easiest way for consumers to contribute toward re-population and a safe environment. Learn about the benefits to eating sustainable seafood, why companies should enact sustainable practices, what companies are making strides (and taking steps back) toward sustainable seafood, and what fish you should stay away from.
What is sustainable seafood?
Seafood is considered sustainable if it comes from a fishery whose practices can be indefinitely maintained and do not adversely affect the species population. The farm must not negatively impact fish and wildlife within the local ecosystem – including the ecosystem itself.
Why should I be concerned about eating sustainable seafood?
Environmental contaminants are increasingly found in seafood. By eating and purchasing sustainable seafood, you limit your family’s exposure to these contaminants, which include mercury, industrial chemicals, and pesticides like DDT. Mercury is especially important, as it affects brain function and development. These toxins usually originate on land and make their way into the smallest plants and animals – as smaller species are eaten by larger ones, contaminants are concentrated and accumulated within the fish. Large predatory fish—like swordfish and shark—end up with the most toxins.
Some species are typically caught only through unsustainable methods – these species can be found on “red lists.” There are certain species of fish and shellfish that, based on their physiology and life history, are unable to support significant fishing pressure. Unsustainable methods include fishing in over-fished areas, poor aquaculture practice and destructive fishing methods. The use of poison, explosives and muroami fishing techniques are all destructive and unsustainable.
Poisons - Typically used in coral reef and coastal lagoon fisheries – sometimes in both fresh and marine waters. As fish become scarcer through overfishing or in order to catch rare, small and precious aquarium fish, local fishers often resort to using poisons such as cyanide or pesticides to kill or stun fish, which are then collected by divers or nets. The poisons kill also other organisms from the ecosystem, including the coral reef-building organisms.
Explosives - Also known as blast fishing, explosions cause fairly large craters and kills both the target fish and plant life. In coral reefs, recolonization of damaged habitats is very slow and complete recovery can take decades.
Muroami - An encircling net with large stones or blocks of cement on ropes pound into coral reefs to scare fish out of hiding. The stones or cement are repeatedly smashed into the coral, crushing the heads and destroying the reefs.
Why should companies enact sustainable seafood policies?
There are many benefits for corporations to enact a well-crafted and followed sustainable seafood policy. We are seeing a slow, but significant change in consumer behavior when it comes to healthy eating. With healthy eating comes an awareness of where your food comes. Across the country, we’re seeing more and more people visit their farmers market. In Seattle city limits alone, we have 16 – with a few being voted some of the best in America – University District Farmers Market and the Columbia City Farmers Market.
Consumers want to know what they’re eating and where it came from. Grocery stores can contribute to this demand by providing sustainable seafood. Retailers need to know exactly where their seafood comes from – and present that information to the consumer so an informed decision can be made. If grocery stores want to stay competitive, comprehensive sustainable and equitable seafood sourcing policies must be developed and implemented.
How do I know what’s considered sustainable seafood?
Grocery stores have been slow to adopt sweeping policy changes when it comes to sustainable seafood. But they’re coming around.
A good sustainable seafood procurement policy should contain a detailed definition of ‘sustainable’ for both wild-caught and farmed seafood. It should list the principles of how sustainable seafood is identified and purchased, and outline how this information is communicated to the public.
Who has sustainable seafood policies?
Greenpeace is currently working with retailers worldwide to motivate them to develop and implement policies for sourcing sustainable seafood. And now in 2010, “a handful of visionary companies have begun to use sustainability and environmental responsibility to distinguish themselves from their competitors,” Greenpeace said in their most recent seafood scorecard.
Companies like Safeway and Whole Foods are joining forces with independent third-party environmental groups like FishWise and the Monterey Bay Aquarium in order to improve their operations and to better promote sustainable seafood to their customers. Whole Foods has the most thorough open-access sustainable seafood policy in the US seafood retail market. Coupled with the chain’s recent decision to partner with Seafood Watch and the Blue Oceans Institute to increase transparency, Whole Foods remains one of the most progressive companies in adopting actual change.
As of May 2010, the rankings of national US grocery chains in sustainable seafood practices are as follows:
1. Target - Target has eliminated all farmed salmon – a task that many grocery stores have claimed to be impossible – especially at low price points.
2. Wegmans Food Markets – Wegmans was the first US retailer to stand up in support of the Ross Sea, the most pristine shallow sea on the planet. By refusing to purchase any seafood products sourced from that area, Wegmans has set a strong precedent for other retailers.
3. Whole Foods Market - In developing and implementing sustainable standards, Whole Foods called upon the expertise of scientists, environmentalists, and the company’s suppliers.
4. Safeway – Safeway has begun to eliminate seafood from fisheries that target depleted populations or that cause damage to the surrounding environment. The chain insists its suppliers demonstrate improvements in aquaculture techniques for farmed salmon and shrimp.
5. Ahold
6. Harris Teeter
7. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
8. Delhaize
9. Wal-Mart – Their stagnancy in the face of other retailers’ progressive activities is the primary cause for its fall from #7 in 2009 to its current ranking, #9.
10. Trader Joe’s - Has now pledged to eliminate all unsustainable seafood from their shelves by 12/2012. The company has also pledged to use its buying power to support industry leaders, such as producers of closed-containment salmon and shrimp.
11. Price Chopper
12. ALDI
13. The Kroger Company (QFC, Fred Meyer) - Kroger is in the final stages of developing its sustainable seafood policy with the World Wildlife Fund.
14. Costco - Costco has no tangible sustainable seafood policy, participates in no significant initiatives, offers virtually zero transparency in its chain of custody, and has a large inventory of red list items.
15. SUPERVALU (Lucky, Albertsons) SUPERVALU does not have a sustainable seafood policy. The company’s new partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) will hopefully address this issue sooner rather than later.
16. Giant Eagle
17. Publix
18. Winn-Dixie
19. Meijer
20. H.E. Butt
Of the 20 largest supermarket chains in the United States, several have made no visible effort to increase the sustainability of their seafood operations, ignoring warnings about the crisis facing global fisheries and the marine environment – H.E.B, Meijer, Costco, SUPERVALU, Publix and Winn Dixie.
This article is part of ConsumerBell’s Food Undressed week, detailing healthy, socially, and environmentally-responsible eating habits and food safety.
