Walmart Canada Pledges to Sell Only Sustainably-Sourced Fish by 2013
Walmart Canada has announced a new Sustainable Seafood Policy which will ensure that by 2013, only sustainably-sourced fish will be sold in its stores.
The new policy is comprehensive and will cover all frozen, wild and farmed fish. Specifically, the company plans to:
- source wild-caught fresh and frozen fish certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard or the minimum equivalent.
- ensure farm-raised fish suppliers adhere to Best Aquaculture Practices, or the minimum equivalent.
- source canned tuna from an International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) member.
- phase out any suppliers procuring frozen, wild and farmed fish from unreported or unregulated sources.
“We’re taking a first step to help sustain the future of fish,” says Sam Silvestro, divisional merchandise manager at Walmart Canada. “We believe that by offering sustainably-harvested fish at affordable prices we can help improve the industry overall.”
The company says it is committed to work with seafood suppliers on product labeling to ensure they are properly representing the type of fish in their frozen and fresh products, and to help them make their operations and supply chain more sustainable. At the moment, though, Walmart Canada admits that the policy is somewhat a work in progress and that suppliers should expect it to evolve over time –particularly because the company also has pledged to work with non-governmental organizations, such as MSC, to look at ways to change the larger seafood marketplace.
Kudos to Walmart Canada for stepping up as a leader in this area because as I have pointed out before, global fish populations are declining dramatically. As incredible as it sounds, some researchers estimate that we’ve already pushed as much as 75 percent of the world’s fisheries beyond the limits of sustainability.
Half of US consumers buy their seafood from supermarkets, so I sincerely hope grocery retailers here will follow Walmart Canada’s lead and take a long, hard look at their operations to find ways to source seafood more responsibly.
