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Retailers Who Partner with FishWise™ Get Top Scores in Greenpeace Seafood Sustainability Scorecard
Created on Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Chris Farotte, seafood manager, New Leaf Community Markets, based in Santa Cruz, CA, said, "We were afraid that by eliminating choices it would be tough to stay in business, but our sales went up about 10 percent after introducing the FishWise labeling system. It turns out that our customers really wanted sustainable seafood. Now we carry no red-listed species and the program continues to thrive."
FishWise labeling goes beyond what is required by law, and informs customers on how the fish are caught or farmed, and how sustainable the product is overall using the methodology of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. Green indicates a best choice, yellow for a good alternative and red for unsustainable options. FishWise also provides retailers with a list of species that are both low in mercury and more sustainable.
Lisa de Lima, Vice President of Grocery for MOM’s, said, "We are very pleased to be recognized by Greenpeace for our commitment to sustainable seafood and promoting the health of the ocean. MOM's purpose is to protect and restore the environment. Our partnership with FishWise provides us with the support we need to offer our customers the highest quality sustainable seafood program." FishWise retailer, Andronico's, with eight stores in the San Francisco Bay area, reported that they receive positive feedback from customers about their sustainable seafood program daily.
Greenpeace released their assessment of 35 US companies in a "Seafood Sustainability Scorecard" on December 9, 2008. Ratings and total scores were assigned to retailers based on four factors: the number of red list seafood items on sale, labeling and transparency, support for sustainability initiatives, and seafood sourcing policy.
For more information about the Greenpeace report, visit www.greenpeace.org.
For more information about the FishWise program and the Common Vision they helped develop to guide businesses on the path to sustainability, visit www.fishwise.org and www.solutionsforseafood.org.