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…)

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), the in-house science service for the EU, has developed a new model to help protect global bluefin tuna populations.

The model uses satellite remote sensing data to provide a unique, overall view of the preferred bluefin tuna habitats in the Mediterranean Sea. The potential presence of bluefin tuna can be tracked through daily updated maps, helping to protect endangered stocks, chart their changes over time and fight illegal fishing.

Protection is needed. (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…)

Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional grocery retailer, has announced significant improvements to its seafood buying practices and standards.

Working in partnership with WWF, Kroger says by 2015, it wants to source 100 percent of its top 20 wild-caught species from sources that are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), in full assessment, or involved in a Fishery Improvement Project with WWF.

In addition, Kroger will:

(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…)