Feature story - September 17, 2008
Since the launch of the Sustainable Seafood campaign, Greenpeace volunteers have visited supermarkets across the country, talking to customers about the issues and asking them to contact companies like Loblaw to demand sustainable seafood policies. As thousands of postcards were being delivered to store managers, Greenpeace members were busy emailing and calling their supermarkets, voicing concern over the health of the oceans.
Those who wrote to Canada's largest supermarket chain, Loblaw (which operates under banners such as Loblaws, Atlantic Superstore, NoFrills, Valu-Mart, SuperValu and Your Independent Grocers, to name a few), may have received a response from their public affairs department. While Loblaw's response shows that they have taken some initial steps toward making more sustainable seafood choices, many of the statements in their email require a closer look. A dissection of Loblaw's response provides a clearer picture of what their statements actually mean in terms of ocean protection and how it relates to Greenpeace's asks.
Subject: RE: Loblaws: Take responsibility for the protection of our oceansDate: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 10:35:23 -0400From: 
: xxxx
July 7, 2008
Dear xxxxx,
Thank you for your correspondence of June 22nd, 2008 concerning Loblaw seafood sustainability practices.
Loblaw is committed to providing our consumers with a wide range of healthy and responsibly raised and caught fish and seafood products. In fact, Loblaw is currently involved with our industry business association the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD) in evaluating the many emerging and existing sustainable seafood certification programs. Once we have completed our detailed evaluation of these programs Loblaw will be moving forward to use the appropriate programs that suit our business and our consumers.
You may not be aware but Loblaw just launched our participation in the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The MSC is an independent international non-profit organization that is helping to change the way the oceans are fished. They are working to reverse the decline of fish stocks and improve marine conservation worldwide.1 One important role they play is setting a standard for the certification of fisheries with environmentally responsible, sustainable fishing methods.2 Products sold from these fisheries carry a blue and white MSC logo which is seen increasingly in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. We're proud to be the first major Canadian grocery retailer to adopt this program and offer MSC-certified fish 3.
Our consumers can be assured that Canadian regulatory requirements are adhered to by our company as well as ensuring that both domestic and imported fish and seafood products are procured through reputable, licensed suppliers.4 In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for ensuring the safety of fish and seafood imported into Canada and sold through our company. If you have any further questions about regulatory practices I am sure the agency will be glad to explain to you the process that is currently in place.5
We appreciate your comments and hope that you will continue to be pleased with the variety and quality of the seafood products that we offer for sale in our stores.
Yours truly,
Loblaw Public Affairs
Loblaw Companies Limited
1 President's Choice Circle | Brampton, ON | L6Y 5S5
Notes
- Loblaw mentions its participation in the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an international, London-based charity set up to certify seafood sustainability. Although fisheries management has improved in some certified fisheries, there is no clear evidence indicating that MSC certification is having positive impacts on fish stocks or marine ecosystems.
- Although the MSC does valuable work to trace seafood products from water to shelf, MSC standards must be more vigorous for it to be considered the gold standard for sustainable seafood by Greenpeace and other environmental organizations and as such, Greenpeace does not currently endorse the MSC. The New Zealand hoki fishery, for example, was recently recertified, even though it is in decline. In addition, the MSC does not cover species that are farmed, ignoring the impact aquaculture is having on wild species and coastal ecosystems and communities. Sourcing MSC seafood and increasing the number of MSC fish sold in supermarkets does not take pressure off species currently being overfished, which are still offered at Loblaw. These species need to be removed from sale in order to enable their populations to recover and to ensure these fish can be sold in the future.
- Several other Canadian retailers sell MSC-certified fish. Loblaw is the first to have developed chain-of-custody certification for some of its private label seafood products. Canadian regulatory requirements relating to seafood do not cover environmental or social concerns. Loblaw is probably referring here to regulations covering food safety and licensing issues. We do not dispute Loblaw's commitment to sourcing from reputable, legal and licensed suppliers. However, many of the most reputable suppliers are sourcing seafood from fishing or farming techniques that are damaging to target fish stocks, other marine species and ocean-dependent peoples.
- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is not responsible for the sustainable use of marine resources. Questions regarding fisheries and aquaculture should be directed to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.