"The Loblaw announcement that it is moving forward on its goal
of ensuring it sells only seafood from sustainable sources by the
end of 2013 shows that the Greenpeace campaign to protect Redlist
species in Canada is having results," said Beth Hunter, Greenpeace
Canada oceans campaign coordinator. "Retailers are doing more to
protect sensitive and overfished species by removing them from
sale. But much more work is needed."
Loblaw announced today that it will stop selling in select
stores across the country fish it has "identified as "at risk" :
sharks, orange roughy, skates and Chilean seabass (Patagonian
toothfish).
"More than 90 per cent of large predatory fish have already
disappeared from our oceans, and it is high time that these Redlist
species come off our shelves," said Hunter.
Through its Out of Stock campaign Greenpeace has been pressuring
Canada's largest supermarkets to develop sustainable seafood
procurement policies to protect oceans and stop selling Redlist
species. These species are raised or fished in a destructive way or
stocks are declining to dangerous levels. Sustainable procurement
policies will help protect the oceans.
Last May, Greenpeace released its first supermarket ranking
report. All eight supermarkets assessed failed the ranking.
Following the release of the report, Greenpeace activists crossed
Canada to confront supermarkets about their poor grades and to
inform consumers about better seafood choices.
Since the supermarket actions, some ranked retailers have made
important changes:
- Overwaitea Food Group released a strong seafood policy in June,
removed a group of Redlist species from sale, and introduced
innovative labeling of fresh and frozen seafood;
- Safeway Canada removed six species and began informing
customers through pamphlets distributed in stores of its new
commitment to improving seafood sustainability;
- Other retailers in Canada, including some not ranked last
spring, have been finalizing Redlist removals and preparing draft
policies to be released in coming months.
"Canada's retailers are starting to turn words into action by
removing Redlist species from sale, but it can't stop here," said
Sarah King, Greenpeace Canada oceans campaigner. "Supermarket
shelves are still stocked with unsustainable seafood, and it's our
oceans that are paying the price."
Removing Redlist from sale is an integral part of ensuring
healthier oceans, but these species should not be replaced with
unsustainable choices. Some of the choices which Loblaw provides to
customers as alternatives to species no longer sold raise other
alarm bells, making it clear that strict sourcing criteria and a
strong policy are crucial to sustainable seafood procurement.
Greenpeace will release its next supermarket seafood ranking
this spring and hopes the momentum of recent Redlist removals will
continue and inspire currently passive retailers to take
action.
Editors:
The Out of Stock, Out of Excuses 2009 ranking, with information
on the rankings and Redlist as well as Out of Stock: Supermarkets
and the future of seafood, issued in 2008, are at
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/documents-and-links/publications/out-of-stock-v2
The Redlist species are: farmed Atlantic salmon, Arctic surf
clams, Atlantic cod, Atlantic haddock, Atlantic halibut, Atlantic
sea scallops, Greenland halibut, New Zealand hoki, orange roughy,
Patagonian toothfish (Chilean seabass), sharks, skates and rays,
tropical shrimp and prawns, and three species of tuna. More
information on the Redlist species is in the report.
For more information, please
contact:
Jessica Wilson, Greenpeace Canada Media and PR Officer, (778)
228-5404
Sarah King, Greenpeace Canada Oceans Campaigner (778)
227-6458
Beth Hunter, Greenpeace Canada Oceans Campaign Coordinator (514)
569-8391