Activists canvassed the area outside the store with a large
banner reading "Don't Buy, Don't Sell Redlist Fish," handed out
information leaflets to customers and set up a 10-foot tuna
skeleton replica. Another banner was raised to target the store
directly, reading "Wal-Mart: Save Seafood. Do Better."
"Greenpeace is at Wal-Mart today to let consumers know that
Canada's supermarkets are major accomplices in ocean destruction,"
said Sarah King, a Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner. "We are asking
customers to help us convince Wal-Mart to stop selling Redlist fish
and start selling sustainable seafood."
The Redlist was developed by Greenpeace and includes 15 species
that are unsustainably fished and farmed.
The action follows the release of a new Greenpeace report
entitled Out of Stock, Out of Excuses: Ranking retailers on seafood
sustainability. The report ranks Canada's major grocery chains on
their sustainability efforts under seven criteria, including the
quality of their seafood policies and the number of Redlist species
sold.
The Wal-Mart chain received a failing grade in part because it
hasn't committed to removing Redlist species from sale. Greenpeace
delivered a copy of the ranking report to the store's manager.
"While Wal-Mart has committed to developing a sustainable
seafood policy starting this year, the promise hasn't translated
into action," said King. "We want Wal-Mart customers to know that
the company is selling seafood out of stock."
Today, day four of the Greenpeace confrontation campaign against
major supermarket chains, also included activities Kingston, Ont.
and Rimouski, Que. During the campaign, activists will challenge
store management at grocery outlets in 19 cities in five provinces.
So far, at least seven Greenpeace activists have been arrested.
Successful activities have also been conducted in Victoria and
Kelowna, B.C.; North Bay, Peterborough, Ontario; and Trois-Rivières
and Victoriaville in Quebec.
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Editor's Note:
A backgrounder and the full Out of Stock, Out of Excuses report
are available at the end of the news release on the Greenpeace
press centre: www.greenpeace.ca/press
The 15 Redlist species are: Arctic surf clams, Atlantic cod,
Atlantic haddock, Atlantic halibut, Atlantic salmon, Atlantic sea
scallops, Chilean seabass, Greenland halibut, New Zealand hoki,
orange roughy, sharks, skates and rays, swordfish, tropical shrimp
and prawns, and tuna.
For more information, please
contact:
Raina Delisle, Media Relations Officer, (250) 891-7246 (on location in Nelson) Sarah King, Oceans Campaigner, (778) 227-6458 (on location in Nelson)