2Sustain

The University of Victoria has released a new report ranking the eco-labels used to distinguish seafood produced with less damage to the environment. This is the first study of its kind evaluating how eco-labels for farmed marine fish compare to unlabeled options in the marketplace.

How Green is Your Eco-label? will help seafood buyers sort through competing sustainability claims and better identify which labels result in farming methods that are less damaging to the ocean.

Here are a few key findings of the report: (more…)

Last month, Shaw’s Supermarkets launched an aggressive sustainable seafood program and announced that it is now the first New England-based retailer with fresh case products certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Shaw’s says it developed the new sustainable seafood sourcing program in close collaboration with the MSC, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) and North Coast Seafood – the company’s single seafood supplier.

Initially, the MSC-certified product offerings will include wild sockeye salmon, wild king salmon, wild Coho salmon, wild Alaskan halibut, pacific frozen at sea cod, Canadian frozen at sea flounder, Icelandic fresh haddock and Canadian fresh haddock.

The Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested products will include lobster, northern shrimp, cod, haddock, sea scallops and pollock.

Additional fresh seafood items will be added as the program expands over time.

Concerns about global fish stocks have prompted several companies in the food sector to adopt sustainable seafood policies. (See earlier posts about Walmart Canada, Costco, Kroger and others.) (more…)

After eight months of pressure from Greenpeace and concerned consumers, Costco has announced updates to its sustainable seafood policy.

As outlined on the Greenpeace website, Costco has pledged to:

• Eliminate the following 12 red list species, which will not return unless the company can find an option certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): Atlantic cod, Atlantic halibut, Chilean sea bass, Greenland halibut, grouper, monkfish, orange roughy, redfish, shark, skates and rays, swordfish, bluefin tuna.

• Play more of a leadership role within aquaculture.

• Partner with World Wildlife Fund to examine their remaining wild-caught species and determine how to best transition to the most sustainable alternative.

• Acknowledge the role that the canned tuna industry plays within the global sustainable seafood movement as it shifts to more sustainable tuna sources in all sectors (fresh, frozen, and canned).

(more…)

All the canned tuna Tesco sells is independently certified as 100 percent dolphin-friendly by the Earth Island Institute. And, the company is committed to buying all of its seafood from responsibly managed fisheries.

New last week, the company expanded its commitment to sustainable seafood even more with the announcement that all of its canned tuna will be caught by the pole-and-line method by the end of 2012.

To achieve this target, Tesco says it will work with suppliers and independent conservation organizations to guarantee the sustainability of pole-and-line caught tuna. The company will analyze possible impacts on the marine food chain, improve traceability of tuna through the supply chain and ensure that food safety standards meet stringent requirements. (more…)

Concerns about global fish stocks have prompted several companies in the food sector to adopt sustainable seafood policies. (See earlier posts about Walmart Canada, Metro, Delhaize America and others.)

Now, High Liner Foods Inc., a leading North American processor and marketer of seafood, has announced that it, too, is committed to sustainable seafood. The company says it will source all of its seafood from certified sustainable or responsible fisheries and aquaculture farms by the end of 2013.

Specifically, High Liner Foods says that it will require wild-caught seafood and farmed products to either: (more…)