Sustainability in the Supermarkets (Seafood)

From Greenpeace:

In the third edition of Greenpeace's seafood sustainability scorecard – Carting Away the Oceans – Greenpeace is seeing signs of progress in the supermarket industry. Many leading grocery store chains have begun increasing the sustainability of their seafood operations.

While many supermarkets began to feel the pressure of their customers and the public to do the right thing and be better stewards for the ocean environment, just as many grocery stores continue to ignore both the public and scientific warnings. These pathetic stores remain at the bottom of the scoring, where they belong!

The supermarket chain Wegmans received top ranking followed by Ahold USA, while Whole Foods dropped to third place from its December 2008 first place ranking. Trader Joe’s remains ranked at #17, the worst ranking of the national supermarket chains surveyed. Three regional chains ranked at the bottom....

A seafood industry without fish simply cannot exist. It seems so simple, yet many businesses still don’t understand it. The ocean ecosystem isn’t doing so well. More and more fish are disappearing from the oceans. That’s why we’re here, talking to the industry and buyers and sellers. Environmentalists, seafood buyers and seafood sellers all need to start working together on conserving the ocean and its precious resources, before it's too late.

Marine reserves are a big part of the solution. By setting aside parts of the ocean as marine reserves - areas of the sea where fishing and other extractive and destructive activities are prohibited - so that fish and other marine life can recover and replenish. Globally, Greenpeace is campaigning for 40 percent of the world’s oceans to be declared marine reserves.

Supermarket Lookup

Greenpeace Red List
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List of Best Choices:
Arctic Char (farmed)
Barramundi (US farmed)
Catfish (US farmed)
Clams (farmed)
Cobia (US farmed)
Cod: Pacific (Alaska longline)+
Crab: Dungeness, Stone
Halibut: Pacific+
Lobster: Spiny (US)
Mussels (farmed)
Oysters (farmed)
Pollock (Alaska wild)+
Scallops: Bay (farmed)
Striped Bass (farmed or wild*)
Tilapia (US farmed)
Trout: Rainbow (farmed)
Tuna: Albacore (troll/pole, US+
or British Columbia)
Tuna: Skipjack (troll/pole)

Seafood may appear in more than one column
Key
Limit consumption due to concerns about
mercury or other contaminants.
Visit www.edf.org/seafood
Some or all of this fishery is certified as
sustainable to the Marine Stewardship
Council standard. Visit www.msc.org
Best Choices are abundant, wellmanaged
and caught or farmed in
environmentally friendly ways.
Good Alternatives are an option,
but there are concerns with how
they’re caught or farmed—or with
the health of their habitat due to
other human impacts.

Alternatives:

aviar, Sturgeon (US farmed)
Clams (wild)
Cod: Pacific (US trawled)
Crab: Blue*, King (US), Snow
Crab: Imitation/Surimi
Flounders, Soles (Pacific)
Herring: Atlantic
Lobster: American/Maine
Mahi mahi/Dolphinfish (US)
Oysters (wild)*
Scallops: Sea (wild)
Shrimp (US, Canada)
Squid
Swai , Basa (farmed)
Swordfish (US)*
Tilapia (Central America, farmed)
Tuna: Bigeye, Yellowfin (troll/pole)
Tuna: Canned Skipjack and Albacore*
Yellowtail (US farmed)Arctic Char (farmed)