Overfishing, plasticpollution and other problems continue to plague the world's oceans, but large supermarket chainsare gettingthe message.
Most of the nation's largestchains— and all of the big ones operating in Arizona—have adoptedpolicies and are takingactions that improve the chancesthat seafood can be fished or harvestedon a sustainable basis, said Greenpeace in a new report.
Nationally, 20 of the 22 supermarket chainsthat Greenpeaceexamined received passing scores, including eightbigplayers in Arizona. When the environmental-activist group published its first sustainable-seafood scorecard10years ago, every company failed.
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Whole Foods toppedthe list with the most best practices, followed by two companies that don't operate in Arizona —Hy-Vee andALDI. Targetranked fourth-best nationally, Albertson's placed seventh and Sprouts Farmers Market came in eighth.
Nationally, the lowest grades were given tosupermarket chains with little or no operations in Arizona, including Price Chopper, Save Martand Wakefern.
Despite progress in encouraging sustainable-seafood practices, Greenpeacecriticized retailers for not doing moreto limit the use ofplastics, which have been accumulating in oceans worldwide.
The report also cited forced labor as a problem inthe seafood industry, with workers, typically from Asian nations, often kept at sea for months on end in fishing boats turned into "floating prisons."
Greenpeace graded retailers only on their seafood policies —not those tied to plastics or human rights.Sustainable seafood refers to wild-caught or farm-raised fish and shellfish obtained using best-availablepractices that mitigate overfishing andother environmental fallout.
“It is timefor major retailers to put the same energy into tackling the other issues facing our oceans and seafood workers, such as plastic pollution and labor and human rights abuses in seafood supply chains," said Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner David Pinsky, in a prepared statement.
How retailers fared
Whole Foods got the top ranking in this year's Greenpeace report, helped by adoption of sustainable tuna-harvesting policies (such as catching fish one by one) and improved methods fordetermining where and how seafood is fished or harvested.
"A shopper interested in canned tuna can walk into any Whole Foods in the country, grab any brand of tuna on the shelf (private label or national brand)and be assured of its sustainability," said the Greenpeace report.
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Whole Foods also got kudos for relying on its own standards for farmed salmon andshrimp, rather than often-incomplete third-party certifications."These standards raise the bar for aquaculture suppliers regarding environmental standards and animal welfare," Greenpeace said.
Target moved into the top four, and second-best in Arizona. However, Greenpeace said Target abandonedan earlier pledge by reintroducing farmed salmon in its stores.
Sprouts new to rankings
Sprouts rankedeighth nationally in the first year the Phoenix-based market chain was evaluated by Greenpeace.
"Sprouts has a new sustainable-seafood policy, (has) goals to offer 100-percentsustainable store-brand canned tunaand does not sell unsustainably caught species like Chilean sea bass, bigeye tuna, and orange roughy," said Pinsky in a note to The Arizona Republic.
Dave McGlinchey, Sprouts' chief merchandising officer, said the company is committed to providing fresh, sustainable seafood products and is dedicated to operating in a way that honors the health of the environment.
Larger chains operating in Arizona includeAlbertson's/Safeway (ranked seventh-best overall),Kroger/Fry's (11th) and Walmart (13th).
Trader Joe's (14th) and Costco (15th) each got passing marks but finished near the bottom ofretailers operating in Arizona.More than eight years after Trader Joe’s committed to improvingits sustainable-seafood practices, theretailer doesn't have a solid policy in place for buyingseafood caught in a sustainable manner, thereport said.
Otherhigh-seas problems
None of the 22 retailers has a comprehensive policyto reduce andphase outreliance on single-use plastic, primarily for packaging, said Greenpeace.The equivalent of a garbage truck of plastic is dumped or flows into oceans every minute, the report said.
Earlier this year, Greenpeace released "Misery at Sea," a report that documentsillegal fishing and human-rights abuses in Taiwan's fishing fleet, focusing onFong Chun Formosa Fishery Co., which suppliesmany Americansupermarket chains.
Greenpeace is critical of "fishaggregating devices" orartificial, floating objects that attractschools of tuna and inadvertently kill other sea life including turtles, sharks and other fish. Relatively benign methods include fish caught by pole and line andhand lines and troll-caught fish.
More information on these and other problems can be seen by reading the "Carting Away the Oceans" report atgreenpeace.org/usa.
Grading the supermarkets
Greenpeace evaluated retailers in four key areas. As noted, its ratings were based only on sustainable-seafood practices (or the lack thereof), not on plastics or labor practices in the fishing industry. These were the four areas of focus:
- Greenpeacechecked to see if supermarket chains have policies or systems in place to determine how seafood is purchased, with the goal ofavoiding suppliers that pursue destructive practices.
- Retailers were evaluated based on whether they follow policies such as avoiding seafood procured under illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing. Greenpeace cited tuna transshipped at sea, from smallvessels to big ships, as apractice that can keep trafficked workers at sea for months at a time.
- The groupevaluated supermarkets based on their in-store, website and other communications to customers on sustainable-seafood issues, such as labeling where seafood comes from and how it was caught orraised.
- The organization checked to see which of 26 commonseafood species were sold by each company, with an eye on wanting to avoid depleted types as determined by a watch list published by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.
Actions for consumers
Supermarkets are sensitiveto customer preferences. Greenpeace urged consumers to make their voices heardand vote with their dollars. It offered the following tips that shoppers can follow to encourage sustianable-seafood practices:
- Avoid certain species. Greenpeace urged consumers not to buyorange roughy, Chilean sea bassor bigeye tuna. Shoppers can check theMonterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch to see which species should be avoided.
- Be wary of tuna. Greenpeace urged consumers to avoid tuna if they can't tell where or how it's caught. The report said suppliers that don'tguarantee sustainable and ethical products includeFong Chun Formosa Fishery,Bumble Beeand StarKist.
- Eat less seafood. Reducing seafood consumption now can help ensure fish for the future. Currentdemand far outweighs what can be sustainably sourced, Greenpeace said.
- Join the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement if you're concerned about plastic pollution. Greenpeace is asking shoppers to favor retailers thathave announced plans to reduce theirplastic footprints. It encouraged consumers to take photosof ridiculously overpackaged items and to post thephotos on social-media outlets.
Despite progress in recent years, Greenpeace cautioned that more needs to be done.
"Thework over this next decade is critical to ensuring healthy oceans teeming with marine life, where seafood workers are treated fairlyand coastal fishers are able to provide for their families without suffering exploitation from industrial fishing fleets," the report said.
Reach the reporter at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8616.
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