Greenpeace targets eight Canadian supermarkets, including Loblaw and Metro
Loblaw, Sobey’s, Metro, Wal-Mart, Costco, Safeway, Overwaitea, and
Federated Cooperatives are all targeted by Greenpeace in this 56-page
report entitled Out of Stock : Canadian Supermarkets and the Future of
Seafood. In this document, Greenpeace reveals an alarming update on the
state of fish and seafood stocks, reports on Canadian supermarkets, and
provides a Red List identifying species to avoid selling and buying.
State of the Oceans
A growing body of research shows alarming rates of species loss.
About 75 per cent of the world’s fisheries are either “fully
exploited”, “over exploited” or significantly depleted. Large,
commercially valuable species are already 90 per cent gone.
“Atlantic bluefin tuna, Atlantic cod and other favourite species are
most at risk,” said Sarah King, Greenpeace Oceans campaigner.
“Supermarkets must take the pressure off threatened fisheries now by
purchasing their seafood only from sustainably managed fisheries. If
they don’t, there soon won’t be any fish to sell.”
Oceans are in peril because global fishing operations take 2.5 times
more fish and seafood than is sustainable. On top of that, destructive
fishing practices, such as bottom trawling and dredging, capture about
27 million tonnes of marine life annually. Most of it is thrown back
into the ocean, dead or dying.
State of the Supermarkets
Supermarkets sell 63 per cent of the seafood eaten in Canada,
including many vulnerable species. Canadians have said in a Greenpeace
survey that they would choose sustainable seafood if supermarkets
provided them with the information they need to make better choices.
“Supermarkets are the key link between suppliers and consumers,”
said Sarah King. “Seafood counters give Canadians a false sense of
abundance. We are fishing the oceans out of stock and supermarkets have
a responsibility to stem the flow.”
Unfortunately, the Greenpeace report shows the purchasing practices
of Canada’s eight largest supermarket chains are discouraging. None
have sustainable seafood purchasing policies in place. They all sell
“Redlist” fish, with Loblaws (32 per cent market share) and Sobey’s (15
per cent market share) selling all the Redlist species. In contrast,
many supermarkets in Europe and the US have policies in place to avoid
Redlist species .
The Greenpeace Red List
Greenpeace is calling on supermarkets to remove the “Redlist”
species from their shelves and adopt sustainable seafood procurement
policies. ” By doing so, supermarkets can send a message to producers
further up the supply chain”, says Sarah King.
Redlist species at risk of commercial extinction include Atlantic
bluefin tuna, Atlantic halibut, Atlantic cod, sharks, skates, orange
roughy and New Zealand hoki. Tropical shrimp is the most consumed
species on the list. Harvesting and farming tropical shrimp is wreaking
havoc on ecosystems and threatening many coastal communities.
Greenpeace is also advocating for a global network of marine
reserves to protect marine biodiversity and allow threatened stocks and
habitats to recover. Protecting 40 percent of the ocean in marine
reserves and enforcing sustainable management in the other 60 percent,
will help ensure a future for seafood. Similar reports by Greenpeace
are being launched today in the United States, Spain and by Greenpeace
International.
For more information, please contact
Jessica Wilson, Public relations, Greenpeace : 778-228-5404
Brian Blomme, Public relations, Greenpeace: 416-930-9055
Notes: Report, redlist, survey, video and images will be available on the greenpeace.org/canada website.
Resources
Video (FTP download)
Report
Images (high resolution)
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