Greenpeace USA's fifth Carting Away the Oceans (CATO) report raises the flag on unsustainable seafood industry practices while praising the work of leading retailers to protect supplies.
According to an article on the Greenpeace website, "a real paradigm shift" is required in the industry's thinking.
"Most seafood merchants continue to focus on large, predatory fish such as cod, sharks, and tuna, while globally, populations of these ecologically vital animals have dropped by as much as 90 percent," according to Greenpeace.
Safeway earned the top spot on the Greenpeace list.
"Key points of improvement include policy development in both capture and farmed seafood sourcing, new language aimed at promoting key conservation initiatives, a marked increase in available consumer-focused information at point-of-sale and online, and a substantial decrease in the red list species carried by the chain," according to the report.
"Greenpeace is thrilled to see Safeway on this trajectory and eagerly awaits further developments in the coming months and years. There is no doubt that it is companies with this sort of willingness to challenge paradigms and assumptions -- not to mention with the gumption to take a public stand on important political conservation issues -- that will lead the charge into the realm of truly sustainable seafood sales."
Others getting a passing grade in order of
ranking from Greenpeace included
Target (2010 winner), Wegmans (2009 winner), Whole Foods (2008 winner), Ahold,
Harris Teeter, Aldi, A&P, Price Chopper, Delhaize, Costco, Trader Joe's,
Walmart, H.E. Butt and Kroger.
Giant Eagle, Publix, Supervalu, Winn-Dixie and Meijer failed to make Greenpeace's grade.
"Companies like Winn-Dixie and Meijer still have yet to demonstrate even the most cursory interest in seafood sustainability. Other companies, like Supervalu and Publix, may be making some sort of progress, but refuse to discuss the issue publicly and have yet to discontinue any of the multitude of red list items that they sell," according to Greenpeace.