greenpeace.ca
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O perm Futu
Su d the od
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Authors
Beth Hunter and Sarah King,
Greenpeace Canada
Graphic design
Diane Héroux
Acknowledgements
Heartfelt thanks are due to the
following individuals and organizations:
For background research and information sources
Jean-Philippe Boutin, Julia Ford, François Meloche
(Investissement responsable), Mario Rautner
(Borealis Centre), Daniel Pauly (Sea Around Us Project,
Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia),
Cat Dorey (Greenpeace UK)
For reviewing all or parts of the report
Marc Allain (Fisheries Policy Dialogue);
Bruce Cox, Jocelyn Desjardins and Jessica Wilson,
(Greenpeace Canada); Beth Fitzgerald,
John Hocevar and Phil Kline (Greenpeace US),
Susanna Fuller and Anna Magera
(Ecology Action Centre), Shauna MacKinnon
(Living Oceans Society); Jay Richlin
(David Suzuki Foundation)
Published by Greenpeace Canada
June 2008
ISBN 978-0-9732337-9-7
Cover : Audrey Denson, densondesign.com
Photos : © Greenpeace
p. 3: Newman; p. 5: Renears; p. 6: Davison;
p. 8: Leduc; p. 9: Verma; p. 11: Newman
p. 12: Beltrá; p. 13: Beltrá; p. 15: Newman;
p. 17: Sutton-Hibbert; p. 19: Hilton ; p. 25: Leduc;
p. 27: Leduc; p. 30: Leduc; p. 29: Salazar;
p. 50: Newman; p. 51: Care, Rose; p. 57: Visser
Printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled, chlorine-free
paper that is manufactured with wind-generated energy
100%
Table of contents
4
Executive summary
6
Introduction
8
Feeling the drag of overfishing
12
Canada’s seafood sector
17
The Redlist
25
Identifying sustainable seafood:
labelling, traceability and certification
30
Seafood in Canadian supermarkets
34
Supermarket profiles
52
Endnotes
56
Glossary
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
Executive summary
Canadian consumers want fresh, affordable seafood, but it is time
to consider the environmental cost to our fish stocks and ourselves.
Sixty-three per cent of the seafood that is commercially available for
consumption in Canada is sold in the retail market: over two billion
dollars’ worth of seafood makes its way through the grocery checkout line each year.1 Canadian consumers are becoming increasingly
aware of their impact on the planet and have become more inclined
to buy products that are environmentally more sustainable, given
the choice. But in an age where the deception of greenwashing
proliferates and labelling still falls very short, the choice is rarely
clear. Sustainable seafood is serious business and retailers have a
role to play in providing Canadians with sustainable, fair and healthy
seafood choices. Some retailers are beginning to move forward
on sustainable seafood procurement and some will be left behind.
But as a nation bordered by three oceans, Canada must move
towards protecting the maritime bounty that is part of our heritage.
Destructive fishing, unhealthy oceans
From deep-sea mountains to pebble beaches, from the Pacific
high seas to the fast-melting Arctic, no shell has remained unturned
in the search for our favourite seafood. Our oceans are changing,
and not for the better. Our insatiable appetites have driven many
of the large, commercially valuable fish from our grocery list to the
endangered species list. In Canada, two of the most sought-after
wild fish, cod and Atlantic salmon, are commercially extinct, and
species such as Atlantic halibut, sockeye salmon and porbeagle
shark face the same fate.
healthy oceans we cannot have a healthy fishery. Choosing to
continue to ignore the warning signs will not only strip the oceans
of biodiversity but it will deprive our ocean-dependent peoples
and future generations of food.
Canada’s seafood sector
For centuries, fishing has formed the basis of many rural economies
in Canada. Once teeming with life, our national waters provided
a diversity and abundance of seafood products sought after the
world over. But our waters and our industry have suffered some
significant losses over the years. With groundfishery collapses
and moratoriums, declines in other valuable fish stocks, and
loss of employment, it has taken enormous effort on the part of
government and the industry to maintain and diversify Canada’s
seafood sector.
Canada continues to keep pace with other major fishing nations,
and is now the world’s fourth-largest exporter of fish and seafood
products, with exports to more than 130 countries.4 As a large
producer of farmed salmon, as well as other valuable species such
as shrimp and lobster, Canada has placed itself in a strong trade
position, exporting most of what is caught and raised at home.
To meet the demand for Canadians’ favourite fish, many types
of seafood are also imported, with shrimp being a hot commodity.
With the mass removal of predatory fish, fisheries are increasingly
going after smaller, lower trophic—level species in a trend known
as “fishing down marine food webs.” 2 This trend reduces the foodbase of the predatory fish and begins a cycle of further decline of
top species and increased fishing of lower species until the food
chain has so many missing links that it begins to fall apart. The result
is broken ecosystems full of smaller, less commercially desirable
fish.3 If this trend continues, the global industry, as well as the
consumer, may soon be feeling the sting of an ocean full of jellyfish.
With ailing wild stocks, the industry turned to cultivating seafood
crops, largely in monocultures common in the industrial agriculture
industry. The high production levels of many aquaculture systems,
particularly those rearing finfish, can have significant impacts on
the surrounding ecosystem, and further threaten the state of wild
stocks. As with industrial fishing practices, one of the impacts of
aquaculture is a loss of aquatic biodiversity. Maintaining biodiversity
is essential in ensuring a healthy and productive ocean. Without
4
Fishing down marine food webs means that the fisheries (blue arrow), having at first removed
the larger fishes at the top of various food chains, must target fishes lower and lower down,
and end up targeting very small fishes and plankton, including jellyfish.
Credits: Design: D. Pauly; artist: Ms. Aque Atanacio, FishBase Project, Los Banos, Philippines.
Greenpeace activists chain
themselves to each other near
displays of threatened bluefin,
yellowfin and bigeye tuna at the
European Seafood Exposition
in Brussels, Belgium.
Labelling: key to the solution
While Canada’s roots remain deep in the seafloor, a stronger
commitment must be undertaken by the government, industry and
retailers to ensure the flow of seafood from the water to the plate is
traceable, sustainable and safe for the consumer. But to date, both
fishery and aquaculture management has left much to be desired.
The fact that seafood sold in Canada is only required to be labelled
with its common name and so-called country of production means
that consumers are unable to make informed choices based on the
method of catch or production, the area it was fished or raised and
the exact species name. Improper labelling also handicaps efforts
to eliminate illegal fishing, a chief cause of extensive overfishing.
While there is increasing certification of wild-caught and farmed
seafood, there are serious problems with it. In the effort to push
out large volumes of certified seafood, pressure is increasing on
certifying bodies to develop criteria that make the process simpler,
faster and cheaper, resulting in a stamp on a product that may be
sustainable—or not.
Retailer responsibility
The Canadian retail food market is one of the most heavily
concentrated environments in the world and the top three players
(Loblaw, Metro and Sobeys) account for roughly three-quarters
of it. In spite of a general increase in environmental awareness
and the implementation of some progressive changes such as
energy efficiency and packaging reductions, consideration of
the effects of our buying habits on the ocean has been slight.
Canadian supermarkets are bringing up the rear in the introduction
of sustainable seafood, notably in comparison to initiatives being
taken by their European counterparts.
Greenpeace contacted Canada’s eight largest supermarkets
to find out about their seafood policies and purchasing practices.
Although several supermarkets expressed concern with the state
of the oceans, little information was provided. Notable exceptions
were Overwaitea and Wal-Mart, which each provided oral and
written responses to their profiles and are taking some steps
toward providing sustainable seafood.
In practice, however, all surveyed supermarkets sell significant
numbers of species that are on Greenpeace’s Redlist. This finding
underscores the need for comprehensive sustainable seafood
policies that include concrete steps for putting those policies into
practice, as well as training and monitoring procedures to ensure
implementation.
GREENPEACE IS CALLING
ON SUPERMARKETS TO:
Stop selling Redlisted species.
The first and most important step for
retailers is to immediately commit to removing
from sale those species most in peril due
to destructive or illegal fishing.
Adopt and implement a sustainable
seafood procurement policy.
Retailers must implement sustainable
seafood procurement policies to ensure
the long-term sustainability of all the seafood
products they sell.
Inform suppliers of
sustainability requirements.
Seafood retailers must help transform the
seafood industry by requiring sustainable
seafood products from their suppliers.
5
01
Introduction
The global appetite for seafood is exceeding the oceans’ ecological limits, with devastating
consequences for marine ecosystems, food security and the livelihoods of the 250 million
people working directly or indirectly in the global fisheries industry. However, while our
oceans have begun to disintegrate under the strain of growing demand, the global fishing
industry has not. As increased fishing effort has actually begun to produce less fish, factory
vessels push into farther, deeper waters and employ state-of-the-art technologies, and the
industry has branched off into a booming aquaculture sector, with all types of species reared
in aquatic farms. The global fishing industry is biting the hand that feeds it, placing ocean
biodiversity under immense threat. The time has come to recognize our oceans’ limitations,
clean up global harvest and production of seafood, and give consumers around the world
only one choice at their seafood counters: fish sustainable into the future.
Global seafood production
In 2005, the combined effort of global capture fisheries and
aquaculture produced almost 142 million tonnes of seafood,
107 million tonnes of which was available for human consumption.
Capture fisheries have begun to wane, but quantities of seafood
available for human consumption have managed to remain relatively
stable due to the growth in aquaculture production. Aquaculture
now accounts for about 43 per cent of production, and continues
to grow more rapidly than any other animal food–producing sector.5
Most of this growth is occurring in developing countries.
China is the world’s top seafood-producing country, both in capture
and farmed production. However, excluding China’s contribution,
the world capture production of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks
has been declining annually since 1989.6
Marine fisheries represent about 74 per cent of overall fisheries
production. Global marine fish captures increased from 19 million
tonnes in 1950 to about 80 million tonnes in the mid-1980s, where
it has hovered since. While the Northwest and Southeast Pacific
appear to be maintaining productivity, other areas, such as the
western Indian Ocean, are experiencing declines. Overall, marine
catches of deep-water species are increasing, as stocks closer
to shore fall.7 Increased and innovative fishing capacity (i.e., larger,
more-highly equipped vessels) and shifts in target species can give
the illusion of a stable and flourishing global capture fishery despite
drastic declines in the populations of many key species and falling
catches in regions such as the Northeast and Southwest Atlantic.8
Catch being landed on board
bottom-trawler in the North
Atlantic, 410 miles northwest
of Ireland. Bottom-trawling
boats drag fishing gear weighing
several tonnes across the
seabed, destroying marine
wildlife and devastating life
on underwater mountains —
or “seamounts.”
6
Global inland catches are generally on the rise, with about 90 per
cent of the world total coming from Africa and Asia, and areas like
Europe suffering dramatic losses. Inland fisheries are of extreme
importance in developing countries and provide an important
source of animal protein.9
INTRODUCTION
“The latest [trawl net], on sale in Vigo, has a mouth opening of 43,000 square yards,
large enough to catch half a dozen 757s flying in formation. These nets are six times
larger in the opening than the original Gloria trawls of ten years ago.”
— CHARLES CLOVER, The End of the line
Although aquaculture is seen as a solution to decreasing capture
capacity, further expansion of aquaculture requires feeds that are
currently largely dependent upon fishmeal produced from wild
stocks;10 therefore, further pressure will be placed on capture fisheries.
Thinking like a fish
Fishing has changed. Not only are fish being raised like livestock,
but the technology that is employed to search for our favourite fish
is becoming akin to space travel. Fishing and fish-farming methods
have evolved to a point where fishers may not necessarily swim with
the fish—although divers are used in fish farming they can move,
see and almost think like them.
High-tech equipment is now found onboard most industrial vessels,
with varying levels of advancement. Some of the most impressive
innovations include: a 3-D tool that enables the fishers to see exactly
what is happening as they fish, including the seabed, their vessel,
the fish, and the gear; bird radars to detect flocks of birds that
congregate near schooling fish; high-power binoculars to spot the
schools; acoustic net monitors to indicate how much fish is already
in the net; fish aggregating devices (FADs) equipped with echo
sounders to monitor fish activity; and, even more advanced, buoys
with an apparatus that is linked to a satellite capable of monitoring
the fish activity of not one but hundreds of FADs at the same time.11
These advances in technology, along with massive subsidies, have
led to a global fishing capacity 2.5-times bigger than what it would
take to sustainably harvest fish stocks,12 and this overcapacity is
placing great stress on marine resources and the people that depend
on them. 13, 14 Pursued by over a million decked vessels worldwide
(many independent fishers’ boats do not have covering decks),
with a growing number of these resembling floating industrial parks
and having nets that can cover an area equal to multiple city blocks,
as well as lines over 100 kilometres in length, our favourite fish are
not only outmatched, they will soon become outnumbered.
Our appetite’s impact on our oceans
Life originated in the oceans and if we are not more careful, much
of it may end there within generations. There is growing consensus
that fishing and whaling were the cause of the first massive,
human-induced alteration of the marine environment, preceding
other impacts like pollution and climate change, and with the
evolution of industrial harvests these changes are continuous
and escalating. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) statistics show that 76% of commercially valuable
fish stocks are either fully exploited or over-exploited and that,
worldwide, there has been a 90% decline in stocks of large
predatory fish such as cod, tuna and swordfish. As inshore and
more accessible stocks decline, the industry has pushed into
deeper water, leaving no commercially viable species in peace.
We may soon become accustomed to a less populated, less
species-rich ocean, but we must not allow our baselines to shift 20
and forget that the oceans were not always this way. With impacts
of climate change already being felt by many aquatic species,
the future of all water-dwelling life is uncertain.
What seafood means to us
Currently, seafood provides more than 2.8 billion people with almost
one-fifth of their animal protein needs, and in many parts of the
developing world, fish are the most important source of animal
protein. It is estimated that fisheries directly and indirectly support
economically around 250 million people worldwide, most of whom
are small-scale fishers, fish farmers, traders or service providers
and many of whom are impoverished, with little or no access
to diversity. 21
In Canada, the seafood sector is not an industry but a way of life.
The lobster trap, the cod jig and the salmon runs have been
synonymous with Canadian coastal life, and fishing has supported
many maritime families for centuries. But times are changing.
There is still a significant number of Canadians who are independent
fishers, but aquaculture, processing and related services now
account for more direct and consistent employment opportunities.
Seafood consumption in Canada remains relatively stable and
the average Canadian consumer eats about 9–10 kilograms (kg)
of fish a year. 22 Meanwhile our tastes are evolving: we are becoming
more interested in Asian meals that favour fish products, and we are
being told to eat more fish to stay healthy. The combination of these
factors means Canadians are choosing seafood more often when
they eat out and making more frequent visits to the seafood counter
at their local supermarket.
About 63 per cent of the seafood in the Canadian market is pushed
through the check-out line in supermarkets across Canada.23 (The
food service sector accounts for the remaining 37%.) This means
that the retail sector is responsible for buying, handling and selling
a massive amount of seafood. Supermarkets are uniquely placed in
the supply chain between the producer and the consumer, forming
equally important relationships with both. Retailers have the power
to change the way we source and buy seafood, and as consumers
become more environmentally aware of their purchasing power,
retailers can also benefit from being leaders in ocean stewardship.
7
02
Feeling the drag of overfishing
Our oceans are under immense pressure, and destructive fishing practices and overfishing
are largely to blame. Once perceived as an inexhaustible resource, our marine environment
has begun to show signs of stress the world over. It may not seem this way as one stands
in the grocery store, but the array of produce is only a testament to the industry’s tireless
drive to meet demand. The problem lies in how far the industry has been willing to go to catch
the best, and soon the last, fish. It has become a relentless pursuit at the expense of not only
the target stocks but also their habitats, other species and entire ecosystems, not to mention
the livelihoods of many coastal peoples.
Unsustainable fishing practices
Recent studies have shown that industrial fisheries can reduce
new target fish stock by 90 per cent in just ten to fifteen years,24
and this is exactly the trend that has repeated itself over and over
again throughout our world’s oceans. In fact, of the world’s major
commercial fisheries, those of large predatory species—which
include some of our favourite seafood, such as cod, tuna, halibut,
skate and swordfish-have declined to 10 per cent of what they were
in the 1950s, around the globe.25, 26 This comes as little surprise,
as the fishing intensity for high—trophic level species tripled from
1900 to 1950 and remained high for the following 50 years.27
Nowhere has this trend been more apparent than in the North
Atlantic. Studies have shown that overfishing is threatening
large coastal and oceanic sharks in the Northwest Atlantic, and
the extent of population decline could lead to mass extirpation.28
Overexploitation has left Canadian populations of cod so low in
some areas that they remain less than one per cent of pre-1960s
levels, and most stocks in the Northeast Atlantic are in very poor
condition. Atlantic halibut off the coasts of Canada and the United
States were heavily overfished in the 19th and early 20th century
and the most-affected stocks have shown no sign of recovery. 29
Following the pattern of Newfoundland’s northern cod, some
halibut populations have approached commercial extinction.
It does not stop there. Inner Bay of Fundy populations of Atlantic
salmon have dropped by 90 per cent, earning them a spot on the
endangered species list beside northern cod; basking, white and
porbeagle sharks; winter skate; and some populations of the North
Pacific’s coho, chinook, and sockeye salmon. With countless other
species listed as threatened and of special concern, and Atlantic
bluefin tuna and a number of shark species following close behind,
scientists fear that regions like the North Atlantic will soon become
dominated by low-trophic level species. 30, 31
8
A turtle is trapped in a fish net,
just off the Rushikulya mass
nesting beaches in India.
Over 10,000 turtles are killed
by fishing gear every year
in Orissa’s coastal waters.
FEELING THE DRAG OF OVERFISHING
as bycatch in the Alaskan pollock fishery last year, resulting in a
collapse of a subsistence fishery because too few fish returned
from the ocean to spawn. For less popular species that may not
constitute targeted fish stock, the impacts of bycatch can go
unnoticed. The largest deepwater skate in the Northwest Atlantic,
a prominent bycatch species not exploited by a commercial fishery,
was almost wiped off the planet without anyone even knowing.36
With longlining, non-target species are also lured by the baited
hooks, including turtles, sharks and seabirds in mass quantity. A
quarter of a million loggerhead turtles, 60,000 leatherback turtles
and over 3 million sharks are caught each year incidentally. Pelagic
longlines are the most wide-spread fishing gear used in the open
ocean, and with the global fleet setting over a billion hooks a year,
the magnitude of impact on marine life is overwhelming.
GLOBAL LOSS OF SEAFOOD SPECIES
0
10
Percent of Species Collapsed
20
30
40
Global fisheries data
1950–2003
50
60
70
80
Extrapolated
long-term trend
90
100
1950
1975
2000
2025
2050
Shown is the current trend in fisheries collapses (data points, based on United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization data base), and extrapolated to 2050 (solid line)
Some species are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because
of their life history and lack of ability to recover. 32 Deep-sea fish,
for example, take a long time to grow and mature, live a long time,
and have fewer offspring. As a result, as fishing moves into deeper
areas due to exhaustion of shelf-dwelling species, there is a larger
chance for widespread commercial extinction of target fish stocks.
Various deep-water fish in the Northwest Atlantic have declined
by almost 100 per cent over a period of only one generation,
and a lack of knowledge of what lies beneath makes it likely for
this pattern to spread. 33, 34
Overfishing is just one reason for the plight of many species.
The use of destructive fishing gear plays a major role in both
the decline of non-target species and also the devastation of
productive ecosystems that allow populations to rejuvenate and
flourish. A major culprit of marine ecosystem destruction is bottom
trawling (for descriptions of gear types in bold, see Chapter 3),
which causes devastating impacts to the seafloor, on the species
that dwell there and on their habitats. Finding somewhere to hide
or a way to escape is extremely challenging when this type of
fishing gear is ploughing through the water. 35
The indiscriminate nature of bottom trawling, dredging and
other fishing methods, leads to the capture of about 27 million
tonnes of marine life “accidentally” each year, and most of this is
thrown back into the ocean dead or dying. These discarded victims,
known as bycatch, often include endangered species, juveniles of
diminishing fish stocks, and other commercially valuable varieties.
About 130,000 Northeast Pacific wild king salmon were caught
Many species that are not necessarily captured or hauled aboard,
but are found bearing scars of entanglement in fishing gear 37, snag
and drag items that had been left adrift around them until the stress
becomes too great and they die, or drown in abandoned nets.
About 300,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises become
entangled in fishing gear and die each year. In the waters off
Canada’s east coast, from 60 to 70 per cent of the endangered
North Atlantic right whale population bears scars of entanglement
in fishing gear, and each year, minke whales, humpback whales
and even blue whales are reported to have been trapped in fishing
gear in the St. Lawrence, suggesting that few whales are immune
to these threats.38
In regulated fisheries, the type and quantity of bycatch can be
reasonably monitored, action can be taken to lower levels or
change gear, and attempts can also be made to monitor landings
and the health of the target species. However, as governments
try to restrict legal fishers, pirate fleets fish beyond reach, spurred
by consumer demand for high-value fish, such as bluefin tuna,
Patagonian toothfish and cod. About 25 per cent of the global
catch is estimated to be obtained illegally, meaning the vessels’
landings go unreported and are unregulated, as they sail under
the radar and evade port and other authorities. With a fleet of over
1,000 ships, these vessels are found around the globe, exploiting
species at unfathomable rates and making it extremely difficult
to determine stock health.
While illegal fishing has decreased in some areas due to improved
control by coastal states and regional fisheries management
organizations, it has increased or remained unchanged in other
regions. Because it has proven incredibly difficult to catch and track
pirate fleets, currently nothing is stopping them from moving from
sea to sea until the bounty runs out.
9
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
In 2000, stocks of Patagonian toothfish were estimated to have been
overfished by 45% of the legal catch, by pirate fleets.39 Catches of bluefin tuna
in the Mediterranean and the high seas of the east Atlantic are underreported,
and, in 2006, unreported catches were estimated at 17,000 tonnes.40
Human impacts
What we have learned the hard way is that unsustainable fishing
does not only affect the marine environment and its species, it has
devastating impacts on coastal communities around the globe.
The exploitation of the world’s most commercially valuable species
is not feeding the hungry or sustaining coastal communities. It is
mainly going on to satisfy the cravings of the more wealthy regions
of the world, and Canadian consumers, retailers and governments
are on the list of those who must take responsibility. Local fishers
are in a position of striving to meet impossible demands, often at
the expense of their own livelihoods. The collapse of the northern
cod fishery off Newfoundland exemplifies a greedy, short-term vision
with disastrous, long-term consequences. The mismanagement
of the fishery, coupled with a heavy financial reliance on the cod,
led to a population as yet unable to recover from such enormous
overexploitation, and tens of thousands of people are out of work,
still feeling the negative socioeconomic implications of the collapse.
On both coasts, First Nations rights have been overlooked by
big fishery and aquaculture business, threatening their cultural
and subsistence reliance on marine resources. Even traditional
fisheries are being threatened by the expansion of aquaculture,
creating conflict within the seafood sector. In order to prevent
further harmful social implications in coastal communities we
must protect our wild stocks, make farmed production sustainable
and conduct fishing activities in a fair and respectful way.
Why aquaculture is not yet the solution
While aquaculture has been touted as the cure-all for many of
the shortfalls of the industrial fishing industry, so far it has proven
to provide its own set of problems, and in some cases exacerbate
existing ones. Many of the most desirable farmed species, such as
salmon and shrimp, rely on wild-caught fish for feed and to stock
the farms, eliminating links in marine food chains in one region to
fabricate links in another. During rearing, the outputs of these farms
often interact with the natural environment, with consequences
not only in the immediate vicinity of the site but often far-reaching,
cumulative and deadly for other species.41
Salmon and other saltwater fish are raised in open-net cages in
the marine environment, yielding high potential for interaction with
the surrounding ecosystem. Uneaten feed, body waste and dead
fish increase the level of organic matter underneath the cage and
this can result in an oxygen-deprived environment and subsequent
suffocation of benthic (bottom-dwelling) species. As a result,
biodiversity on the seabed beneath and even up to 200 metres
10
away from salmon farms can decrease significantly, especially
in areas of high production and/or farm density where cumulative
and regional impacts may occur. Due to intensification of the
salmon farming industry, the nutrient fluxes of some areas have
been greatly altered. In an inlet in southwestern New Brunswick,
for example, research found in 2002 that, due to nutrient pollution,
salmon production levels would have to be cut by 90 per cent
in order for oxygen to reach optimum levels.42
In conditions where some species cannot survive, others flourish.
The raised levels of nutrients caused by organic waste can stimulate
the growth of algae, which can result in the development of huge
mats that cover the seabed, affecting growth of other species.
For example, this kind of coverage has been found over 30 per cent
of the sediment adjacent to salmon farms in the Bay of Fundy.43
The location of most aquaculture farms can also promote negative
interactions with the marine environment. Finfish farms are usually
placed along coastlines, close to shore. Marine shrimp ponds are
also found along shorelines; however, their construction has also
caused the destruction of thousands of hectares of mangrove
forests and coastal wetlands in various countries around the world.
These areas serve to protect coastlines, and provide critical habitat
for wild species, and their disruption can interfere with important
ecosystem functions, exclude species from their habitats, and
even provide substantial losses to commercial fisheries.44, 45
The fish farming industry is quite aware of the potential interaction
with various wild species, and in some farming areas companies
employ various predator deterrent devices in an attempt to ward off
curious and hungry passers-by. However, some of these deterrents
use acoustics that have been shown to negatively affect behaviour
and the health of marine mammals, such as harbour porpoises.46, 47
Some species, often seals, cannot resist the cages full of food
and may be shot in defence of the farm.
Other interactions are less deliberate but result in similarly
devastating and more widespread impacts to wild species. The
spread of sea lice from farmed salmon to wild juvenile salmon and
other species such as herring has become of increasing concern
in British Columbia.48 It has been estimated that sea lice have killed
more than 80 per cent of the wild pink salmon in the Broughton
Archipelago, and if high rates of disease transmission continue, the
population will be wiped out in just four years.49 On a global scale,
salmon farming operations have reduced wild salmon and trout
populations by up to 70 per cent in several areas and this continues
to place further stress on endangered stocks. 50
FEELING THE DRAG OF OVERFISHING
Tuna ranching, the herding of wild tuna into farms for fattening,
combines the destructive elements of capture and farm production
into one disastrous fishery. Although tuna farms are relatively new,
their prevalence is rising despite the falling of tuna stocks. 51 While
many believe that aquaculture is here to stay, it should not be seen
as a replacement to wild capture fisheries; attention should be given
to recovering wild stocks through the establishment of marine
reserves and decreasing current production levels. 52
Greenpeace is calling for the establishment of a global network
of marine reserves covering 40 per cent of the world’s oceans.
These protected areas, free from human exploitation, will enable
ecosystem recovery, while the other 60 per cent of the world’s
oceans would be placed within an ecosystem-based management
regime, ensuring the precautionary and sustainable use of our
marine resources.
BENEFITS OF MARINE RESERVES
Fishery-related:
• Increase abundance, average size, reproductive
output and genetic diversity of target species
• Enhance fishery yield in adjacent areas
• Provide simple and cost-effective management regime
which is readily understood and enforced
• Guard against uncertainty and reduce probability
of overfishing and fishery collapse
• Protect endangered species and marine mammals
• Provide opportunities for increased understanding
of exploited marine systems
• Provide basis for ecosystem management
General:
• Increase habitat quality, species diversity
and community stability
• Provide undisturbed control sites for monitoring
and assessing human impacts in other areas
• Create or enhance non-extractive,
non-destructive uses, including tourism
• Reduce user conflicts
• Provide opportunities to improve public awareness,
education and understanding
• Create areas with intrinsic value
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MARINE RESERVES,
SEE: http://oceans.greenpeace.org/highseas-report
11
03
Canada’s seafood sector
Canada’s fishing industry has long been a cornerstone of national pride and patriotic
sentiment, and the country’s territorial waters have been known as some of the most
abundant in fish on the planet. For centuries, ships sailed from distant lands to reap the
benefits of our aquatic bounty, particularly on the East Coast. But the increasing stress on
the stocks and coastal communities led to new rules on access of foreign fleets to territorial
waters (known as the exclusive economic zone—EEZ—an area extending 200 nautical miles
into the ocean from a country’s shoreline) and Canada began to exert its right to exclude
foreign fleets. Today, almost all of the fishing that takes place in our EEZ is done by Canada,
with the United States also taking advantage of access rights. Canada conducts some distant
water fishing of its own, and the nation’s stake in fisheries internationally remains high due
to its close association with the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization and to the fishing
of transboundary species (species that migrate in and out of the EEZ) by foreign fleets. 53
To complement the capture fleet, Canada’s shorelines have become
inundated with fish farms, which rear many species in the same
waters where they have been exploited to commercial extinction
—a trend not exclusive to Canada. In total, the capture fishery
accounts for 76 per cent of total fish and seafood production in
Canada, and aquaculture constitutes the remaining 24 per cent. 54
Seafood production and value
Canada has one of the world’s most valuable commercial fishing
industries, worth more than $5 billion annually.55 With an annual wild
and farmed harvest of about $2.8 billion, Canada’s seafood industry
provides an economic foundation in many coastal communities.56
Globally, Canada ranked 18th in seafood catch in 2004, with a total
inland and marine catch of just over one million tonnes, compared
to China’s 17 million tonnes. 57 Landed weight has generally been
trending downward and may continue to do so as groundfish and
pelagic fish catches become more unpredictable.
With various native species verging on commercial extinction,
Canada, like the rest of the world, has turned to aquaculture
to meet the demand for seafood and provide employment
opportunities. Following the trend of the global sector, Canada’s
aquaculture industry is booming, quadrupling in the last 15 years,
both in value and volume.58
Salmon dominates aquaculture production in Canada. Canada is
one of the world’s top producers of Atlantic salmon, ranking fourth
globally after the UK, Chile and Norway. Shellfish farming has been
growing steadily and represented 23 per cent of total production
in 2006. 59
Fish farm in Broughton
Archipelago, British Columbia.
The intensive net-cage salmon
farms operations in this area
have been the subject of much
controversy due to sealice
infestations.
12
CANADA’S SEAFOOD SECTOR
A fry salmon
captured in an area
infested with sea lice,
Alert Bay area,
British Columbia.
Wild salmon populations
have been affected by
lice spread from farms.
What is caught and farmed
Canada’s total seafood production is comprised of various marine
and freshwater species: some wild, some cultured native species
and some cultured non-native species. Many of the world’s favourite
types of seafood are caught or reared in Canadian waters, including
tuna, cod, salmon, shrimp, crab and swordfish. The United States
also harvests various popular large pelagic species from Canadian
waters, such as a number of tuna species, swordfish and mackerel.
The top species in terms of quantity for seafisheries (marine)
is herring, whitefish constitutes the largest quantity of freshwater
species caught in Canada, and salmon contributes by far the most
farmed seafood. Many species are now harvested in the wild and
also reared in farms, such as salmon, trout, mussels, scallops and
various others. The marine species dominate landed weight, with
herring followed by shrimp and salmon. 60, 61
While the aquaculture sector continues to expand, it is also
diversifying: conducting trials with various species on the decline
in the wild such as halibut and cod, introducing exotic species such
as tilapia, and expanding production of species such as scallops
and arctic char, to meet growing demands. 62
Where it’s caught and farmed
Half of the world’s catch is caught along continental shelves, which
comprise a small percentage of the globe’s oceans. On the whole,
the world’s commercial fishing grounds cover about 10–15 per cent
of our oceans.63 Canada’s continental shelves and surrounding
areas boast many commercially valuable species, particularly the
Grand Banks area off Newfoundland. A huge portion of Canada’s
fishing activity has taken place off shores around the Maritimes and
Quebec. The Atlantic commercial fishery accounts for about 80 per
cent of total landings, while 16 per cent of the total landings come
from the Pacific fishery. 64 Commercial fishing is conducted all along
the Pacific coast. Canada also fishes in the US EEZ on both coasts.
SALMON FARMS IN CANADA
Salmon farms such as those found along the east and west
coasts use net pens that are anchored to the seafloor and
suspended from a stationary surface structure. The net pen
and the surface structure may have protective netting to deter
predators, and acoustic deterrent devices and lighting have
also frequently been used. Average-sized salmon operations
in the industry usually consist of about 14 separate 30-metre
by 30-metre pens per farm, each containing from around
50,000 to 80,000 fish.
New and innovative aquaculture systems are also being
attempted in Canada, including integrated multitrophic
aquaculture, which incorporates different types of species
into one system, such as finfish, shellfish and marine plants.
These farms have many benefits in troubleshooting some
of the impacts associated with monoculture operations.
Closed containment saltwater aquaculture systems, which
can either be land or water-based, provide an option to grow
marine species such as salmon with little to no interaction
with the marine environment. These systems have been
used for various types of fish around the world, and take
on many forms, with ranging degrees of success. Trial sites
for salmon are currently in operation in British Columbia, with
a commercial-scale system scheduled to begin operation
in 2008. Tilapia, trout and Arctic char are currently being
grown in closed systems at a commercial scale in various
Canadian locations.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WAYS
TO MAKE AQUACULTURE MORE SUSTAINABLE,
VISIT: www.greenpeace.ca/oceans
Canada’s inland commercial fisheries are found in the Arctic,
Atlantic, Pacific and the Hudson Bay drainage basins, with all
of the country’s provinces and territories able to play a role in
the commercial fishery through fishing in many lakes and rivers.
Aquaculture operations are found in all ten provinces and in the
Yukon. In Atlantic Canada, finfish farms are largely concentrated
in the Bay of Fundy and the southern coast of Nova Scotia,
while shellfish farms are found around all three Maritime provinces
and Newfoundland and Labrador. From Quebec to Alberta, trout
farming is prominent, and off British Columbia finfish farms of
salmon species are in abundance.65
13
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
Billion of dollars in global fisheries subsidies, including those from the Canadian
goverment, are mainly directed toward capacity building in the fishing industry,
rather than resource conservation.
How it is caught and farmed
Various fishing methods are employed to capture the species
landed in Canada. Because many commercially valuable species
are groundfish, such as cod, haddock, halibut, and shrimp, bottom
trawling gear brings in the largest landed weight of any fishing
method in Canada.66 Traps catch the second-largest volume of
species, followed by purse seines and midwater trawls. Traps
catch many of the most valuable species caught in Canada, such
as lobster, shrimp and crab. Purse seines are commonly used to
catch pelagic species living in upper water layers that aggregate
in schools, such as herring—the fishery with the greatest landed
volume.
Seafood species that are not harvested in the wild are cultured
in aquatic farms. Species can be raised in cages, ponds (less
than one hectare), closed water systems, raceways (artificial water
channels through which water is continuously pumped) and inland
farming systems. 67 In Canada, the farming method most often
employed is the rearing of finfish and shellfish species in the open
water outdoors.
Economic climate
While the industry has suffered some catastrophic economic
and employment setbacks, its importance to the livelihoods of
many Canadians is indisputable. Over 80,000 Canadians earn
their living directly at sea, on inland waters, in processing plants or
in aquaculture operations.68 It is estimated that the entire industry
provides over 130,000 jobs to Canadians.69 In 2006, among
Canada’s 1,200 coastal communities, the Atlantic fisheries and
aquaculture industries alone employed about 67,000 people.70
The prospering aquaculture industry has enabled the creation
of numerous new jobs in various areas where employment rates
have historically been low, and increasingly so with the closure of
traditional fisheries. In 2005, the Canadian aquaculture industry
paid out $100 million in salaries and wages.71 The seafood
processing industry (including capture and aquaculture) is also
vital to the economic success of many rural communities in several
provinces. Seafood processing provides about 48,000 people
with either full or part-time jobs in approximately 1,000 registered
processing operations.72
Despite an overall lucrative aquaculture industry and efforts to
revitalize the commercial fishery, both the capture and aquaculture
sectors in Canada are not without their economic problems,
particularly on the East Coast. The Canadian government cites
14
GEAR TYPES
Used mainly to catch groundfish species, bottom trawls are
large, cone-shaped nets held open at the mouth, consuming
all species in their path as they are dragged along the bottom
of the sea. The ground gear of the trawl is designed to
optimize contact with the bottom to enable a maximum yield
and unimpeded movement along the seabed and to minimize
impacts to the gear.
Dredging is a similar fishing method but one which often
completely overturns or liquefies the seafloor in search
of species hiding in the sand, such as scallops.
Longlining is another highly indiscriminate fishing method.
Longlines can be over 100 kilometres long, consisting
of a mainline off which trail many shorter lines strung with
thousands of baited hooks.
The purse seine is a type of surface gear commonly used
in commercial fisheries to capture aggregations or schools
of fish. Purse seine nets are very long and have line running
through rings along the bottom. The net is set around
schooling fish and the line is then pulled taut to entrap
them as it is drawn into a bag shape or purse. Purse seine
operations often use devices to detect schooling fish, such
as hydroacoustic instruments, fish aggregating devices (FADs),
and lights. Because purse seines are often large, they are
generally used in the marine environment and in the more
open of inland areas.
Traps are stationary gear that take on different forms,
including pots, fixed nets, or barrages that are meant to retain
the species when it enters the gear voluntarily. Sometimes
bait is used to lure the species, but it is not always necessary.
Many types of traps can be employed by hand but vessels
are often used to move and reset them at different locations.
They can be used in various depths and ecosystem types,
both inland and in the marine environment.
CANADA’S SEAFOOD SECTOR
the strong Canadian dollar, rising fuel costs and global competition
as some of the main challenges they are attempting to address
through what they call an oceans-to-plate approach, an integrated
scheme aimed at evaluating economic viability, including all the
players in the seafood value chain, particularly harvesters and
processors.73 The largest challenge, often greatly underestimated
by the Canadian government, is the current state of many key fish
stocks, without which an ocean-to-plate plan will have little relevance.
After one of the last periods of intense overexploitation of
groundfisheries came to an abrupt halt in the early 1990s, Canada’s
domestic fleet proceeded to decrease by a quarter between 1995
and 2003, from 30,238 to 22,947 vessels.74 Overcapacity—coupled
with a growing number of commercially valuable fisheries on the
decline—will only place further pressure on coastal communities,
especially in Atlantic Canada, where the impacts of species
collapses continue to reverberate through the region.
Subsidizing the seafood sector
Fishery subsidies are generally characterized as financial
payments from public entities to the fishing sector. These subsidies
can help to reduce cost, raise profit, build capacity and increase
participation. 75 But not all subsidies have the same goal. Some
subsidies target sustainability of a marine resource, focussing
on activities such as research and management programs, but
most serve to enhance industry performance through investments
in fishery development and boat construction programs and
through tax exemptions. 76
Over the years, the fishing industry has been quite heavily
subsidized. Total global fishery subsidies have been estimated
to be between US$26 and US$34 billion a year, most of which
has been directed towards capacity building. 77
Canada has invested a lot of money in its seafood sector. Between
1995 and 2005, over US$632 million was reportedly provided
in subsidies to Canada’s fishing industry. This money went into
things such as fishery enhancement and renewal programs,
stock assessment programs, fishery enforcement programs,
loan guarantees and lending support programs, harbour facility
construction, unemployment insurance programs, payments to
license fishers and vessel retirement programs. 78 Canada has
invested in better management initiatives, but much investment
has gone towards building capacity in areas where marine
resources were, and still are, scarce.
Turkish tuna fleet
Purse Seine fishing
and transfering catch
to transport cage.
HOW MUCH GETS SOLD AT THE RETAIL LEVEL
62.4% of seafood by volume is sold in Canada’s retail market.
37.6% is sold in the foodservice sector.
68.5% of the market value is sold in the retail sector.
31.5% of the market value is sold in the foodservice sector.
The market share for fresh, frozen and canned seafood is:
Retail
Food service
Fresh
54%
46%
Frozen
59%
41%
Canned
81%
19%
SOURCE: Food for Thought (FFT), Strategic Information Services. Food & Drink
Markets, 2007 Edition. www.fft.com.
The Canadian government has a mandate to promote aquaculture
and has heavily invested in that sector. The government plans to
invest $22 million over the next two years ($70 million over 5 years)
into the aquaculture industry.79 This level of financial commitment is
expected to strengthen regulatory certainty through greater federalprovincial coordination; establish performance-based environmental
standards for farming operations to enhance federal regulatory
science, support of research and innovation; and enhance Canada’s
competitiveness and productivity.80 Subsidy specifications vary from
province to province and in some provinces, such as Newfoundland
and Labrador, the subsidy has been complemented by private
investment from industry.
Because it has become widely acknowledged that global fisheries
are overcapitalized, leading to overcapacity and subsequent
decline of fishery resources,81 governments such as Canada’s
should concentrate on investing in subsidies such as conservation
programs as opposed to investments that work to threaten marine
ecosystem health.
Flying fish: Seafood imports and exports
Not all the seafood that is caught and raised in Canada stays in
Canada, and not all seafood sold in Canada comes from Canadian
farms or fleets. As the fourth-largest exporter of seafood products
in the world, exporting to over 130 countries, about 85 per cent,
by value, of what our industry produces leaves our borders.82
Shellfish, mainly lobster, is the most valuable seafood export,
with salmon exports also increasing.
15
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
Canadian’s favourite frozen seafood product is shrimp, which is also the most
highly traded seafood in the world. Salmon and tuna are also extremely popular
items, dominating the Canadian fish market.
To supplement seafood produced in territorial waters, Canada
also imports various seafood species. In 2006, Canada imported
482,000 tonnes of seafood, worth $2.1 billion. British Columbia and
Ontario account for two-thirds of the volume of seafood imported
into Canada, most of which comes from the United States, though
sourcing from China is becoming more and more frequent.83
Like exports, shellfish represent a significant proportion of imports,
at 43 per cent. Two of the most valuable species produced in
Canada, shrimp and lobster, also account for a significant proportion
of imports. Shrimp is the most imported species and accounts for
19 percent of the total import value, and lobster is the most heavily
imported species from the US.84
While importing various species provides the Canadian consumer
with choice, it can also heighten sustainability as well as health
concerns. Many countries from which Canada sources seafood
have lower industry standards and even less strict labelling regimes.
Who is in charge?
Canada’s seafood sector is regulated jointly by Fisheries and
Oceans Canada (DFO, formerly called the Department of Fisheries
and Oceans), which manages the production end of the business
(that is, all operations pertaining to fish, whether wild or farmed,
while they are in the water), and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
(AAFC), which provides export market development support for
a wide variety of Canada’s food and beverage products, including
fish and seafood.85
Canada has not had the best track record when it comes to
managing and protecting our fish stocks. As a result, Canadian
fisheries are still recovering from the over-fishing that was rampant
until the mid-1990s and continues today, though more subtly.
DFO is also in a position of conflict as it is responsible for both
protecting wild fish and promoting the aquaculture sector. Given
the environmental impacts often incurred by the surrounding marine
environment, including damage to critical fish habitat, wild fish
and other species, and the current lack of sustainability within the
aquaculture industry, it is unclear how these two responsibilities
can exist in harmony.
16
SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD DEFINED
Sustainable seafood is seafood which is not:
• from overfished or vulnerable stocks,
• caught illegally, or taken from unmanaged fisheries,
• caught or farmed in ways which are harmful to the marine
environment or other marine species, or
• a threat to traditional fishing grounds or livelihoods,
especially in developing countries.
Generally, seafood is sustainable if it comes from a fishery or
farm whose practices can be maintained indefinitely without
disrupting the structure and function of the ecosystem.
Consumption trends
Worldwide fish consumption has been increasing significantly
since the last half of the 20th century. Advances in technology have
made fresh fish available to a wider variety of customers around
the world, as fish can be frozen and shipped quickly and safely.
In industrialized countries, consumers are becoming more healthand diet-conscious, and food science advancements have shown
fish to be an excellent source of essential fatty acids, minerals
and proteins.
In Canada, seafood consumption reflects many of the global trends.
Overall per capita seafood supply has been steadily increasing
over the past few decades, although growth has slowed in recent
years. Seafood consumption in Canada has been between 9 and
10 kilograms (kg) since peaking in 1999 at 10.03 kg per person
per year.86 About 5.98 kg per person are purchased from the
retail sector, whereas about 3.60 kg per person are consumed in
restaurants and other foodservice establishments.87 Between 1991
and 2003, fish consumption per capita increased by 10 per cent,
while red meat consumption decreased, suggesting a move to
healthier protein choices.
Canadian’s favourite frozen seafood product is shrimp, which is
also the most highly traded seafood in the world, and salmon and
tuna are also extremely popular items, dominating the Canadian
fish market.88
04
The Redlist
As key players in the seafood supply chain, retailers have an important role to play in
ensuring their customers only have one seafood choice: fair and sustainable products.
However, sourcing sustainable seafood can be a complicated process requiring careful
attention to all of the potential negative impacts brought on by each fishing and fish farming
practice. For this reason, Greenpeace has developed a Redlist of seafood sold in Canada
that is fished or farmed using unsustainable. The Redlist consists of “what not to eat”
and “what not to sell”—species that we are asking consumers to avoid and urging
supermarkets to remove from their shelves.
How did these fish end up on the Redlist?
The fish on our Redlist are there for many reasons. Generally, each
species was included because the fishery or production method
has negative impacts on the target species or other marine species,
leads to ecosystem alterations, has social implications, or is poorly
managed or corrupt.
Each Redlist species was evaluated through the Greenpeace
red-grade criteria for fisheries or the Greenpeace red-grade criteria
for aquaculture. During the assessment process, Greenpeace
reviewed the most recent scientific research relating to each stock
or aquaculture system, and consulted the grading methods used
by recognized organizations, including the Marine Conservation
Society (MCS), Seachoice, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, as well as
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and other government and
academic sources.
To identify wild-caught Redlist species, Greenpeace took
into account:
• the stock status,
• species vulnerability,
• fisheries management,
• the prevalence of illegal fishing activity, and
• the environmental impacts of the fishing methods used.
Many of the species listed on the Redlist have stocks that are
severely depleted, and some stocks have completely crashed. Even
where the species still has stocks in better health, the predominant
fishing methods are often highly destructive and wasteful.
Rows of frozen tuna await inspection
by fish buyers at the tuna auctions at the
Tsukiji wholesale fish market, the largest
fish market in the world. Japan is the
world’s largest consumer of tuna, and
now faces price rises in the cost of the
delicacy food, following tuna-fishing quota
reductions imposed by the International
Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tuna.
17
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
Overall, over 307,541 tonnes of Redlist species
were consumed in Canada in 2006.
To identify farm-raised Redlist species, Greenpeace took
into account:
• the source of the eggs or juveniles used to stock the aquaculture
system,
• whether the species being raised is native to the area where
it is being produced,
• whether the facility is located in a sensitive area,
• the source of feed and the ratio of wild fish input to farmed
fish produced,
• potential social impacts, and
• impacts on other species, such as the transfer of disease,
loss of biodiversity and ecosystem alterations.
The two farmed species (Atlantic salmon and tropical shrimp and
prawns) presented on the Redlist meet many of the aforementioned
criteria.
The aquaculture criteria take into account social implications, while
the wild-caught criteria do not. Other sustainability considerations,
such as energy consumption during capture, transport and
processing, as well as position of the species in the food web,
are not currently included in the criteria.
Presented below is the Redlist, the numbers beside each
species corresponding to a general list of impact criteria. The
general list of five criteria encompasses factors weighed during
the assessment of each species. Detailed information on the
fisheries and aquaculture red-grade criteria is available upon
request.
WHY SPECIES ARE REDLISTED
Atlantic cod
Atlantic haddock (scrod)
Atlantic halibut
Atlantic salmon (farmed)
Atlantic sea scallops
Chilean seabass
Greenland halibut (turbot)
Hard shell clams (Arctic surf clams)
New Zealand hoki (blue grenadier)
Orange roughy
Sharks
Skates and rays
Swordfish
Tropical shrimps & prawns
Tuna — bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye
Stock Status
fishery/production method
exploits endangered, vulnerable
and/or protected species and
species with poor stock status
Destructive Fishing Methods
fishery/production method
has negative impact on other,
non-target species
Pirate Fishing and/or Poor Management
fishery/production method
is unregulated, unreported,
illegal or managed poorly
Habitat Impacts
fishery/production method
causes habitat destruction
and/or leads to ecosystem alterations
Social Impacts
fishery/production method has negative
impact on local, fishing-dependent
communities that fish sustainably
NOTE: Fishery species or farming methods that do not appear on the list are not necessarily sustainable. As well, the sustainability of stocks of the above-
named species and the gear types used to catch them vary, and change in status will need to be assessed and proven on a case-by-case basis. For those species
listed as the most destructively fished but having some stocks that are less severely depleted, supermarkets need to prove that their products have been sourced
from those specific stocks using more sustainable methods.
18
Shark fins and tails onboard a
Taiwanese longliner. Fifty million
sharks are killed globally each
year. Greenpeace wants the
pockets of international waters
between Pacific nations to
become the first marine reserves
in international waters.
THE REDLIST
Redlist species in focus
While each species found on the Redlist fits within general criteria,
each has a raised level of concern for very unique reasons. The
species found on the Redlist are often all-encompassing, i.e.,
species that may have some stocks or farmed species in better
and worse shape. A closer look at why each species is found on
the list can aid supermarkets and consumers in understanding
the importance of recovery of the stocks that are in worse shape
and of protecting the stocks that are in better shape. It also shows
that widespread protection of our ocean resources is needed
within the framework of a global network of marine reserves
if healthy stocks are to be ensured for the future.
Redlist species consumed in Canada
While all Redlist species are sold in the Canadian retail market,
some species are more consumed than others. Presented below
is a table of the most recent data on the landings, imports, exports
and the estimated quantity available for consumption of some
Redlist species. A complete data set was not available for all
Redlist species.
Based on this data, shrimp is the highest imported species, and
it also is the most readily available for consumption by consumers.
Of the Canadian-produced species on the Redlist, farmed Atlantic
salmon is produced in the highest quantity, and is the fourth-highest
consumed Redlist species. The five species consumed in the
highest quantity after shrimp are scallops, tuna (total of all species),
farmed Atlantic salmon and then Atlantic cod. Tuna is the secondhighest import, with the next highest import species, haddock,
at a quantity over five times less. After shrimp, the species exported
in the greatest quantity is farmed Atlantic salmon, followed by
Greenland halibut.
REDLIST SPECIES IN CANADIAN MARKETS, 2006
Quantity in tonnes (in descending order of estimated consumption)
Species
Landed
Imports
Exports
Estimated
Consumption
Shrimp
Scallop
Tunas*
Farmed
Atlantic salmon
(estimated)
Atlantic cod
Haddock
Atlantic halibut
Patagonian
Toothfish
Swordfish
Greenland
halibut/Turbot
181,429
63,29
5,906
53,208
5,325
40,234
106,708
5,144
4,119
127,929
63,471
42,021
106,252
27,229
16,951
1,799
4,053
326
7,959
887
74,569
10,979
8,492
1,285
35,736
16,576
16,418
1,401
0
1,405
779
0
0
1,045
779
360
14,622
185
11,957
285
SOURCE: DFO, Statcan, Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, 2007 and 2008. 89
* Species-specific information was not available for tunas. Complete
information was not available for Arctic surf clams, orange roughy, sharks,
skates and rays, and NZ hoki.
19
THE REDLIST
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
ATLANTIC COD
Gadus morhua
ATLANTIC HADDOCK (scrod)
Melanogrammus aeglefinus
ATLANTIC HALIBUT
Hippoglossus hippoglossus
ATLANTIC SALMON (farmed)
Salmo salar
Atlantic cod is a classic example
of a species that has been pushed
beyond its limits. By the early 1990s,
the abundance of Newfoundland’s
northern cod stock had declined
by 99.9 per cent relative to their
abundance in the early 1960s,90, 91
winning them a place on the COSEWIC
and Canadian Species at Risk Act
(SARA) endangered lists. Other
populations are listed as threatened
and the Northwest Atlantic cod are
listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and
are under consideration for legal
protection under SARA. Despite strict
management in the US and Canada,
cod populations remain overfished,
caught as bycatch in other fisheries
and often fished illegally.
Atlantic haddock is caught primarily
by trawling, which in this case is
associated with the bycatch of already
depleted cod stocks. Haddock fishing
areas have been trawled repetitively
over the last 50 years, and this
sustained stress has significantly
altered or damage a large portion
of the seabed and ecosystem.
Atlantic halibut are inherently
vulnerable to overfishing, due to their
low growth rate and late onset of
sexual maturity. Unfortunately, Atlantic
halibut have been heavily overfished.
In the US Atlantic, Atlantic halibut
continues to be overfished, stock
biomass is the lowest on record and
there are no signs of recovery to date.
While management in both the
United States and Canada is focused
on rebuilding of haddock stocks after
the most recent crash, it cannot be
considered effective until all stocks
are fully recovered and overfishing
is not allowed to begin again.
In EEZ water of the US, there is no
directed fishery but overfishing occurs
in the form of bycatch. In Canada,
a restricted directed fishery exists.
Halibut show recent declines of 80%
on the Grand Banks northeast of
Newfoundland (since 1960s), 95%
on the southern Grand Banks/south
coast Newfoundland (since 1980s),
99% on George’s Bank, and
additional declines on the Scotian
Shelf, with small increases in Gulf
of St. Lawrence.92, 93, 94, 95, 96
Farmed Atlantic salmon present
serious threats to the marine
environments in which they are raised.
While fry are raised in hatcheries,
adults are raised in open net cages in
the marine environment, where waste
feed and faecal matter cause nutrient
pollution and an associated decrease
in biodiversity around the salmon
pens. Farmed salmon are generally
raised in overcrowded, open net pens,
and can also transfer disease and
parasites like sea lice to wild salmon
if they are located close to migratory
routes or spawning grounds.
Atlantic cod is caught using bottom
trawling. Thus, the destruction
of habitat has likely played a role
in the inability of cod populations in
many areas to recover from fishing
pressure. Canadian scientists believe
that bottom trawling may have
smoothed the bottom structures
and eliminated places for juvenile
cod to hide to such a great extent
that recovery might not be possible.
Severe depletion of cod has led
to an observed change in food webs,
with other species moving into
the niche previously filled by cod.
The indiscriminate nature of bottom
trawling gear also leads to bycatch
of other species.
20
Atlantic halibut was designated
by the Committee on the Status
of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
(COSEWIC) as potentially being at risk
as of October 2007 and has been
a National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA–United States)
species of concern since 2004. Also,
it has been declared an endangered
species by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though
the designation is out of date.
Escaped fish are also of concern,
as many Atlantic salmon are raised
in Pacific waters where they are not
native. If farmed salmon escape they
can compete with wild salmon for
food and spawning habitat. In Norway,
farmed salmon have been estimated
to comprise 11– 35 per cent of the
population of spawning salmon and
in some populations this may rise
to 80 per cent.97 When farmed
salmon escape into waters where
they are native to the region, they
may interbreed and reduce genetic
diversity and even cause genetic
inferiority. When escapes happen
regularly, the likelihood of negative
impacts increases.
Salmon are carnivorous fish, and
marine species that are taken from
the oceans to feed farmed salmon
put further pressure on wild stocks.
It usually takes more than twice
the amount of wild fish to produce
one kilogram of farmed salmon.
THE REDLIST
THE REDLIST
ATLANTIC SEA SCALLOPS
Placopecten magellanicus
CHILEAN SEABASS
Dissostichus eleginoides
Scallops are currently being
overfished in the mid-Atlantic region.
They are harvested in the northwest
Atlantic ocean primarily with scallop
dredges and bottom trawlers which
remove, crush, or dislodge marine life
and habitat alike, resulting in severe
damage to benthic ecosystems,
including the destruction of juvenile
cod habitat, thereby reducing cod
recruitment.
Chilean seabass (also known as
Patagonian toothfish) is a high-value
species caught mostly with bottom
longlining, and some bottom trawling
and traps. The use of these methods
has contributed to high levels of
bycatch of seabirds and to disruption
of ecosystems with sensitive habitats.
Endangered seabirds, including
petrels and albatrosses, eat the bait
from toothfish fishing vessels, get
caught on the hooks and are dragged
underwater and drowned.
Other species are caught during
scallop fishing, including endangered
sea turtles and fish, and over
100 non-target species have been
recorded as bycatch in the scallop
fishery. The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) estimates that nearly
1000 loggerhead sea turtles are killed
each year in the mid-Atlantic during
the summer months when the turtles
are foraging in the scallop beds.98
The management of sea scallops
operates solely to maximize profits
to the industry and has little regard
for the impacts on other fisheries,
habitat or endangered sea turtles.
Areas surveyed with an abundance
of juvenile scallops are closed for a
period of years to allow the scallops
to increase in size and maximize
their economic return. However, areas
that have been set aside to rebuild
groundfish, are designated as habitat
for juvenile cod, or have a seasonal
high abundance of sea turtles are still
accessed by the scallop dredge fleet.
This results in seafloor destruction,
the elimination juvenile cod habitats
and the death of hundreds of
loggerhead sea turtles annually.
Depleted species include the
wandering albatross (vulnerable),
greyheaded (vulnerable) and blackbrowed albatrosses (endangered),
as well as the white-chinned petrel
(vulnerable). Bycatch of fish includes
skates, rays, macrourid species,
sleeper sharks and porbeagle sharks.
Estimates of the volume of fish
bycatch range from approximately
1% to 15% of the annual seabass
catches by longline and trawl fisheries
in some areas covered under the
Convention on the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(CCAMLR).99
GREENLAND HALIBUT
Reinhardtius hippoglossoides
The maximum age of Chilean seabass
is at least 40 years and they are
thought not to reach sexual maturity
until 9–10 years of age, which gives
this species a very low resilience,
and makes them very vulnerable to
overfishing. These considerations are
not currently being taken into account
in management and certification
scdhemes.
As a species that is native to deepwater ecosystems, the Patagonian
toothfish is representative of the
trend for commercial fisheries to fish
increasingly deeper as shallower
waters are fished out. In the southern
oceans, the mean depth of the fish
catch is increasing rapidly, by more
than 100 metres per decade.
A major problem with these fisheries
is the extremely high level of illegal
fishing, which renders population
health impossible to determine.
Catches are magnitudes higher than
the assigned quotas in many regions
and pirate fishing continues at an
astonishing pace.
The major problem with this
Greenland Halibut is overfishing.
The species has low resilience,
with a minimum population doubling
time of 4.5–14 years. Greenland
halibut have a very high vulnerability
to disturbance because of their late
maturation, extreme longevity, low
fecundity and slow growth. Biomass
has been declining in recent years
and is presently estimated to be
at its lowest observed levels.
Compounding this problem are high
levels of juvenile fish mortality, with
average sizes declining drastically
from the mid-1980s to the 1990s.100
Bycatch in this fishery also includes
significant numbers of depleted
species such as Atlantic cod.
Bottom trawling for Greenland halibut
destroys deep sea coral and sponge
habitats and dramatically alters key
habitats. The latter could occur in
the form of disturbing juvenile nursery
grounds and affecting halibut food
sources.
21
THE REDLIST
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
HARDSHELL CLAMS
Arctic surf clam
Mactromeris polynyma
Hardshell clams are caught primarily
by hydraulic dredge fishing, a practice
which is one of the most invasive
fishing methods. The effects of
this fishery on habitat are severe,
and there is a significant lack of
information on habitat recovery.
Bycatch associated with both hand
rakes and hydraulic clam dredges
includes infauna (worms) and
epifauna (bryazoans, or soft corals),
lady crabs, starfish, rock crabs
and horseshoe crabs.
Evidence suggests that clam
populations are feeling the pressure,
as catch rates for both species
peaked in the mid-1990s, and have
been in decline since, despite
short-term trends indicating an
increase in population abundance.
NEW ZEALAND HOKI
Macruronus novaezelandiae
ORANGE ROUGHY
Hoplostethus atlanticus
New Zealand hoki is caught
primarily with bottom and mid-water
trawl in southern Australia and New
Zealand. Despite improvement in hoki
management, the fishery continues
to have significant bycatch of
protected species, including sharks,
marine mammals and seabirds, and
bottom trawling has severe impacts
on benthic habitats. The continued
bycatch of deep sea coral associated
with the fishery indicates that trawls
are likely occurring in newly trawled
areas. These practices result in
reduced benthic biomass and a
decrease in over-all diversity. It is
well known that the removal of a large
percentage of a population of some
predatory species can lead to changes
in community structure, and, if severe,
can produce regime shifts. There is
also a lack of information to evaluate
the level of acceptable impact of this
fishery on the ecosystem.
Orange roughy is inherently
vulnerable to fishing pressure because
it is a slow-growing, late-maturing
(>30 years) species, can live to be
over 100 years old, and has a very
low resiliency (minimum population
doubling time is more than 14 years).
These characteristics, coupled with
special behaviours that make orange
roughy additionally vulnerable to fishing
(spawning aggregations, unusual
attraction to gear), have led to years
of overfishing, which has decimated
populations. It may be decades before
we see population recovery.
There are two genetically distinct
hoki populations, the New Zealand
stock and southern Australian stock.
Both stocks are at, or close to, their
lowest point ever. Estimates of Hoki
abundance on the western spawning
grounds show the population is
13–22% of its original number.101
Although stocks are currently
declining, there is no formal
rebuilding plan in place.
22
Adding to the problem is the
destruction of orange roughy habitat
by bottom trawls. Trawl gear ruins
deep-sea habitat around topographic
features, including seamounts,
plateaus and canyons, where orange
roughy aggregate for spawning and
feeding. The use of this gear has
damaged sensitive cold-water corals
off New Zealand and Australia’s coast.
The United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) has called for urgent,
coordinated action to integrate and
improve the management of seamounts
and other underwater features.
Main bycatch species in New Zealand
fisheries are deepwater sharks and
dogfish, deep-sea catfish, slickheads,
rattails, and Basketwork eels. There
is nearly 100% mortality of bycatch
species in the orange roughy fisheries,
due to the depths from which the
species are taken. Deep-sea sharks,
some which are listed on the IUCN Red
List, are taken as bycatch in orange
roughy fisheries, a factor which some
scientists believe is contributing to
their decline.
SHARKS (many species)
Spurdog (piked dogfish, spiny dogfish)
Squalus acanthias,
porbeagle shark Lamna nasus,
shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus,
blue shark Prionace glauca
Despite their known vulnerability
to overfishing because of their low
growth and reproduction rate, sharks
have been increasingly exploited
in recent decades, both as bycatch
in pelagic longline fisheries since
the 1960s onward, and in directed
fisheries, which expanded rapidly in
the 1980s.102 Shark populations have
plummeted to an estimated 10 per
cent of previous levels, and various
species are now listed as endangered
and threatened. Scientists estimate
that 100 million sharks are caught
and killed each year.
Of particular concern is the increase
in the practice of shark finning, in
which it is common to cut off the fins
of the shark and discard its carcass.
Few fisheries actually use the whole
animal; some use only the fins, some
use only the meat, and others use
the livers or skins. This leads to
significant waste in the fisheries.103
In Canada, the practice of shark
finning was banned in 2004, but
populations have failed to recover.
THE REDLIST
THE REDLIST
SKATES AND RAYS (many species)
Thorny skate Amblyraja radiata,
big skate Raja binoculata,
longnose skate Raja rhina
Overfishing of the great sharks on
the US east coast has led to major
ecosystem alterations. Abundances
of their prey, including skate, ray,
and small shark species, have
increased tremendously, and the
explosion in cownose ray abundance
has devastated a century-long bay
scallop fishery.104
Midwater gillnets used to catch
sharks are generally considered
to have very high rates of bycatch
of marine mammals, seabirds, sea
turtles and billfish.
While shark management efforts have
improved in Canada for porbeagle,
blue, spiny dogfish and shortfin mako
sharks, efforts that include at-sea
observers, dockside monitoring,
and regular stock assessments,
quotas of endangered species are
still assigned.105
Skates and rays are very vulnerable
to overfishing, and are caught both
as bycatch and in targeted fisheries.
Overexploitation is known to have
already nearly eliminated two skate
species from much of their ranges
in the North Atlantic.106 Thorny skate
populations have been displaying
stress in their distribution pattern,
declining since the 1970s, and are
currently at their lowest recorded
rates. Most species of skate in the
Atlantic region are of special concern,
threatened or endangered.
Skates are often caught with bottom
trawls, which are indiscriminate
gear that cause damage to benthic
habitats such as corals, sponges
and other structural species. Bycatch
of unwanted or undersized animals
has been common in multispecies
groundfish fisheries, and there is
heavy bycatch of unmarketable,
illegal, or undersized individuals,
which are usually discarded dead
or dying.
SWORDFISH
Xiphias gladius
TROPICAL SHRIMP AND PRAWNS
Penaeus spp
Swordfish are fished primarily
by pelagic longlining, which results
in high rates of bycatch. Much of
the bycatch in the longline fishery
for swordfish are long-lived, latematuring, and slow-growing species,
including endangered and threatened
sea turtles, seabirds, marine
mammals, sharks, and billfish. Billfish
and sharks (particularly blue sharks)
are the major species group that is
discarded in the swordfish fisheries.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated
(IUU) fishing vessels add further
uncertainty to the issue of bycatch
in the pelagic longline fishery.
Warm-water or tropical shrimps
supply about 80% of the world’s
wild-caught shrimp. Extremely high
consumer demand for shrimp has
led to over-exploitation in some areas,
and exploitation at or near their
maximum sustainable yield in all
areas.
Swordfish are also ecologically
significant predators in many ocean
areas and their decline could lead
to changes in marine community
structures, even with sustainable
fishing rates. In the international
swordfish fishery, most nations
do not have comprehensive catch
enforcement or bycatch mitigation
plans.
Most tropical shrimps are caught
by bottom trawling, and many areas
are trawled several times per year,
allowing no time for bottom fauna
to recover to its pre-trawled condition.
Bycatch in the international shrimp
trawl fisheries is of critical concern
because of the severe and continuing
threat to endangered and threatened
sea turtles, and the heavy bycatch of
finfish and other creatures associated
with tropical shrimp trawling. The
world’s shrimp fisheries produce only
about 2% of global seafood but are
responsible for 30% of world bycatch.
It is estimated that several hundred
thousand turtles are being killed each
year in the shrimp fisheries of Asia,
South America, Mexico and Africa.
Tropical shrimp are also farmed,
primarily in the Asia-Pacific region,
with Thailand, Bangladesh and
Indonesia the leading countries.
While the practice of shrimp farming
has been traced back as far as
500 B.C. in this region, the current
industrial practices are wreaking
havoc on mangrove forests and
coastal ecosystems.
(continued next page)
23
THE REDLIST
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
TROPICAL SHRIMP AND PRAWNS
(continued)
In order to stock these ponds,
many regions of the world rely
on wild-caught juveniles, leading
to overexploitation of wild shrimp
and to bycatch of other species.
In Honduras, the reported annual
collection of about 3.3 million juvenile
shrimp resulted in the destruction
of around 15–20 billion fry of other
species.107
Shrimp farms generally cultivate huge
numbers of shrimp in overcrowded
ponds that require large amounts of
chemicals and antibiotics to prevent
disease and growth of bacteria and
fungi. This results in toxic outputs into
the surrounding environment, harming
aquatic life and causing antibiotic
resistance. In Thailand it is estimated
that 1.3 billion cubic metres of toxic
waste are discharged annually.108
Shrimp farming also requires
a constant supply of fresh water
to maintain oxygen levels. This
practice depletes local rivers and
groundwater sources, undermining
local communities’ drinking water
supplies.
Lack of traceability makes it hard
for the consumer to distinguish
between farmed and wild, warmand cold-water shrimp. Despite the
international trade in shrimp products,
there is no international management
agreement with regard to shrimp.
24
TUNA
Atlantic bluefin Thunnus thynnus,
yellowfin Thunnus albacares,
bigeye Thunnus obesus
Tuna stocks worldwide are in trouble.
All 23 identified, commercially
exploited stocks are heavily fished,
with nine being classified as
fully fished and four classified as
overexploited or depleted.109 Various
stocks are classified as vulnerable,
endangered or critically endangered.
Three species that are fished at
unsustainable levels around the globe
are bluefin, yellowfin and bigeye.
Atlantic bluefin tuna is a high-value
species, with some bluefin tuna
selling in Japan for more than
$100,000 each. In the late 1970s,
the advent of modern factory ships
and rapid worldwide air shipment
made bluefin tuna an international
luxury commodity.
The high value of this fish coupled
with technological advancements
has put extreme pressure on stocks
around the world; the Atlantic
population has declined by nearly
90 per cent since the 1970s and
overfishing is still occurring. The
North Atlantic stock is approaching
commercial extinction, and the South
Atlantic stock is severely depleted.
Atlantic bluefin are overfished and
the fishing rate is reducing the stock
to unsafe levels, preventing recovery
of depleted stocks. Bluefin tuna grow
slowly and are late to mature, and
so cannot reproduce quickly enough
to keep up with demand.
Atlantic bluefin are caught with
pelagic longlines and purse seines,
in which sea turtles, seabirds, sharks
and marine mammals are entangled
by the thousands, endangering their
populations. As for purse seines, even
when they are “dolphin safe” their
bycatch of other unwanted fishes and
animals is still very high. Bluefin tuna
also migrate large distances across
oceans, compounding difficulties
in international management and
enforcement of regulations.
Bigeye and yellowfin have declined
dramatically in all oceans. It has been
estimated that fishing of bigeye and
yellowfin must be reduced by 50 per
cent if population health is to be
restored.
Adding to population stress of bigeye
and yellowfin is the increasing use
of fish aggregating devices (FADs),
floating platforms to which tuna
are instinctively drawn. FADs not
only attract target species but they
also attract a bycatch of juvenile
bigeye and yellowfin, which are
vital for breeding and future stock
growth.110, 111
Management of tuna populations
is weak and precautionary limits
are not being set.
Furthermore, only a small percentage
of tuna fleets have independent
observers on board to record vessel
operations. This makes it much easier
for fleets to under-report their catch,
and to illegally conduct shark-finning,
leading to shark population declines.
Many tuna fisheries are also unfair
fisheries. The Pacific provides
approximately 60 per cent of the
world’s tuna and each year foreign
fishing fleets make billions of dollars
from sales in Japan, Europe and the
US. Unfair and unsustainable tuna
access agreements negotiated
by foreign companies and Pacific
countries mean that Pacific nations
are usually only receiving about
5–6 per cent of the value of the
catch caught by foreign vessels
in their national waters.
05
Identifying sustainable seafood:
Labelling, traceability and certification
Labelling
For concerned consumers in Canada, as elsewhere, identifying
sustainable seafood options is a difficult process. While the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has set
guidelines for the eco-labelling of wild-caught seafood, by their
own definition these standards only set out minimum substantive
requirements and criteria for assessing whether an ecolabel may
be awarded to a fishery. The FAO standards focus primarily on best
practices for governance and standards-setting processes, only
briefly discussing the essential considerations for environmental
performance. Furthermore, they are voluntary and there is no
process for evaluating compliance.
Given the absence of fully credible certification schemes (see below)
and the small percentage of seafood that is currently certified,
consumers must develop a relatively detailed understanding of
fishing and aquaculture issues in order to make sustainable seafood
choices. But even with this knowledge in hand, consumers are
hampered by the fact that the current labelling practices rarely
provide the species name, the exact catch area or the fishing
method used.
Unlike those of the European Union and the United States,
Canada’s seafood labelling regulations do not include requirements
for naming the country of origin of seafood (as opposed to country
of “production”), whether it is wild-caught or farmed or whether
colourants or other additives have been used. The only requirement
is the common name of the fish, and the country of production
for processed items.
There are frequently three, five or ten different common names for
any one fish species. For example, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
can be sold in Canada as chinook, king salmon, pink chinook, red
chinook, spring salmon or white chinook. Requiring only common
names can allow for some convenient name changing. Patagonian
toothfish, a species which is massively overfished, in large part
by illegal fishing vessels, is usually marketed as Chilean sea bass.
Slimeheads were renamed a more palatable “orange roughy.”112
Under Canadian law, the country in which at least 51% of
manufacturing costs occur is considered to be the “country
of production.” New guidelines are currently being proposed
to provide consumers with more information for foods which
are “product of Canada” (contents and processing of food are
Canadian) and “made in Canada” (only manufacture or processing
25
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
is Canadian). However, they will still not require labelling for the
country of origin of ingredients. This can lead to some confusion
at the retail outlet. For example, one of Canada’s flagship seafood
companies, Captain Highliner, processes nearly a third of its fish,
such as cod, haddock, Alaskan pollack, Pacific salmon and Boston
bluefish, in China.113 Because Canadian cod stocks are so low,
the company sources its cod in the Barents Sea, ships it to China
for processing and packaging, and returns it labelled “product
of China.” 114
A 2006 study by the US Consumer Reports found that only 10 of
the 23 supposedly “wild” salmon fillets they bought were actually
wild-caught salmon. Perceived as a healthier choice because
of the lower levels of accumulated PCBs and dioxins, wild salmon
generally fetches a higher price than farmed.115 In Canada, the
species of choice for farmed salmon is the fast-growing Salmo salar,
Atlantic salmon. But consumers often assume that “Atlantic salmon”
is wild, while in fact there is no legal wild Atlantic salmon fishery,
given its listing by the Committee on the Status of Endangered
Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as high-priority in almost all areas
of Canada’s Atlantic, and as an endangered species in the inner
Bay of Fundy.
Without adequate information on labels, it is nearly impossible for
consumers to make smart choices at the grocery store. Yet labels
are relatively easy for supermarkets to provide and some European
grocery chains already provide labels with information about the fish
species, where it was caught, and how it was caught. If seafood
products are labelled, consumers can more easily make ecoconscious seafood choices.
Seafood carbon footprints
The criteria Greenpeace uses for assessing fisheries evaluates their
impact on marine ecosystems, other species and the population
levels of their own target species. But what about the impact
of fisheries, and fish farms, on the broader environment, and
especially on carbon dioxide emissions? It’s clear that choosing
local seafood can help cut down on CO2 emissions compared to
choosing fish sourced from the other side of the planet. But it turns
out that cutting down seafood carbon footprints is not so simple.
When fresh products are flown to end markets, their carbon
footprint increases significantly, sometimes representing a larger
portion of the CO2 emissions than any other production phase
in the seafood’s lifecycle. But when seafood travels by land or sea,
other aspects such as the fishing method, type of packaging and
storage are far more significant than transportation. Intensive fishing
methods such as bottom trawling and purse seining are highly
26
Greenpeace believes that seafood products available
to the end customers need to have full labelling to ensure
their traceability and thus their legality and sustainability.
Labels must contain:
• the common and Latin names of the species,
• FAO fishing area where the fish was caught or country
where the product was raised (for aquaculture),
• stock of fishery for wild caught or country of origin
for aquaculture products,
• fishing capture method or type of aquaculture,
• port of landing for wild-caught fish, and
• day of catch or landing.
energy-intensive, as are canning or foil packaging. So for example,
a tuna which has been fished using selective or passive methods
such as pole and line fishing will have a lower carbon footprint than
a purse-seined one—as long as it has not been flown to market
or processed in an energy-intensive way. 116
While choices are not always simple, the issue of carbon footprints
points to the basic importance of labelling for country of origin and
fishing method, to allow consumers to make enlightened seafood
choices.
Traceability
Unlike other food suppliers, the seafood industry is awkward and
fractured—it has relatively little control over its sources; price, quality
and availability are unpredictable, and traceability is highly variable.
The path of seafood from the ocean to the table is fragmented and
ever-changing, highly dependent on product availability, the weather,
the times of fish markets and auctions, and the types of processing
employed.
Changing patterns of consumption and the continuing drive towards
greater convenience mean that supermarkets demand reliability,
continuity and consistence of supply, along with competitive pricing.
This is reflected in the growing proportion of farmed fish available
at supermarket fish counters—not as a result of a desire to protect
wild fish stocks, but because the chain of supply is easier to control
and so suits the supermarkets’ centralized, automated nationwide
buying systems. A supermarket’s fish buyer can, for example, have
direct contact with a farmed sea bass supplier in Greece, who can
guarantee a particular weight, quality, price and level of availability.
Supermarkets are working to change the seafood industry into one
from which they can get fish when they want it, at a price and in
quantities that suit them—and they are beginning to get their way.
IDENTIFYING SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD: LABELLING, TRACEABILITY AND CERTIFICATION
Tracing seafood products from the ship that caught them to the
supermarket shelf is essential to ensuring that the fish have been
legally and sustainably caught. In order to counter the problem of
overfishing by pirate vessels, retailers and processors must ensure
that they are not buying fish from vessels that have been blacklisted
by fish management organizations, transshipped illegally at sea
or delivered to ports without systematic reporting and verification
of catch data.
In Canada, seafood traceability is in its infancy. Some work
has been done by governments and industry to develop better
traceability systems, and the pressure to provide information for
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification has accelerated the
process. Many companies offer traceability services, ensuring that
the fish can be tracked from the boat or farm to the supermarket
shelf. Such services have been adopted by some retailers,
but the use of reliable, verified traceability systems should be
a Canada-wide standard. Tracing the origin of seafood and
providing that information on labels has a long way to go.
Small fishers and small fish shops
This report is about supermarkets, which are the largest retail
source of fish and seafood. But it’s important to mention that fish
stores and farmer’s markets are good options because the sellers
tend to know more about where fish are coming from and how
they are caught. Consumers who can buy directly from fishers
(or can fish themselves) have the opportunity to get information
about fishing methods firsthand while providing direct support
to small-scale fishers.
Much of canned tuna
is skipjack, a species whose
stocks are not currently
endangered, but the fishery
remains problematic because
of illegal fishing, unfair
returns to coastal impacts,
and the negative impact
of fish aggregating devices
on bigeye and yellowfin tunas.
the FAO guidelines do not consider the impacts of species that feed
on the target species.117
Bigger boxes, lower standards?
Eco-labels may provide market-based incentives for sustainable
fish products, which, in turn, can play a role in achieving
ecologically sustainable fisheries. However, as more big box
retailers like SuperTarget and Wal-Mart seek to certify the
sustainability of the products they sell, the pressure increases
on certifiers to find simpler, faster, and cheaper ways to deliver
“certified” fish to the masses, sustainable or not.
Aquaculture certification
A recent review of 18 certification bodies by the World Wildlife
Fund (WWF) suggests that presently available aquaculture
standards have shortfalls and there is need for improvement
in almost all aquaculture certification standards.118
The WWF is working to develop science-based standards for
certifying aquaculture species through discussions with seafood
retailers, restaurants, farmers, scientists, government officials,
investors and conservation non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
These “aquaculture dialogues” have been initiated for nine species:
salmon, shrimp, pangasius, tilapia, abalone and four types of bivalve
shellfish—clams, oysters, scallops and mussels.119 However,
progress in developing the standards is slow and there is no
equivalency established, among the various dialogues, on how
the work is done and where the bar for performance is set.
On a cautionary note, representatives of local communities,
Certification
Several organizations label fish as “eco-friendly” or “sustainable”
as part of certification programs on behalf of seafood companies,
grocery retailers, and fish markets. The best-known and most
globally used certification program for wild-caught fish is the one
devised by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Several other
certification bodies evaluate aquaculture operations.
Certification schemes vary widely from organization to organization
and there are no consistent standards among certifiers about what
makes a fishery or a particular product certifiably “eco-friendly.”
The FAO has produced guidelines on certification of seafood which
are widely considered to be the absolute minimum standards for
any credible seafood certification program. However, because
the guidelines are voluntary and do not incorporate key principles,
including the precautionary principle and the ecosystem approach,
certification based on these guidelines is insufficient. For example,
NGOs, social movements and researchers from 17 countries
of Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America recently
met to address the continuing expansion and associated impacts
of industrial shrimp aquaculture. In light of the continued failure
of certification bodies to adequately address these impacts, or
to involve local communities in developing standards, the meeting
urged consumers, retailers, NGOs and governments to reject all
the certification schemes developed thus far and those currently
in development.” 120
“Organic” seafood
There are no organic standards for wild fish, given that the inputs
(food eaten by the fish) cannot be controlled. Organic certification
is possible for aquaculture, but there are no nation-wide organic
standards yet for farmed seafood in Canada. While standard has
been accepted in Quebec since 2005, it is too general to be useful
for all production types.
27
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
Greenpeace is of the opinion that no fully credible certification system
for wild-caught seafood currently exists and that the existing aquaculture
certification schemes present major shortcomings in the way they
consider environmental standards and social issues.
While organic standards for seafood have been adopted in other
countries, they do not necessarily meet stringent guidelines. For
this reason, labelling of seafood as organic should not be seen
as a way to effectively communicate the sustainability of seafood
to customers. Fish labelled as organic is likely to be farmed, which
may mean it contains a higher concentration of contaminants such
as PCBs and dioxins than its wild counterpart. 121 It has been
argued that some methods of production, such as the farming
of carnivorous fish in open net pens, simply cannot be deemed
organic because of the input of wild species as feed and the input
of chemicals and antibiotics.
The World Wildlife Fund’s global review of aquaculture certification
concluded that generally, organic aquaculture standards performed
better than non-organic schemes. There are, however, major
shortcomings in relation to protection of sensitive habitats,
regulation of effluent discharges, introduction of non-native species,
prevention of escapes, use of genetically modified species and
general impacts on local wildlife. Organic schemes were the only
schemes surveyed which required fishmeal and fish oil to come
from sustainable fisheries or from off-cuts and by-products from
fish processing plants. On social issues however, many organic
certification bodies did not even address basic labour rights.122
Certification bodies
Although only a tiny percentage of seafood sold in Canada is
currently certified by any body, this is changing quickly. Presented
below are profiles of three certification bodies which currently
certify or plan to certify fish sold in Canada: the Marine Stewardship
Council (wild fish only), Friend of the Sea (wild and farmed) and
the Aquaculture Certification Council.
and transparent—stakeholders are consulted on the selection
of assessment and peer review teams, and on the performance
indicators and scoring guidelines designed for each applicant
fishery. The final decision on certification can, in theory, be
challenged through an objections procedure.
Although the traceability it requires is crucial to ensuring a
sustainable seafood system, the MSC has been criticized on several
counts. The main criticism of the MSC certification is that it comes
too early in the process. Certification is given to fisheries that
pass an initial set of standards, and which adopt an action plan
to improve the fishery further.123 The MSC argues that certification
leads a fishery to be more sustainable, but many remain skeptical,
particularly after fisheries in decline such as the New Zealand hoki
fishery were recertified (see below). Discrepencies have also been
noted in the certification of different fisheries. 124 Although there
is a process for stakeholder input into MSC certification, individuals
and non-profit organizations generally lack the time and resources
to participate fully. What’s more, there have been numerous
experiences where NGO comments on processes and certification
have fallen on deaf ears—including opposition from the WWF itself
to the recertification of the New Zealand hoki fishery.125
The fact that certain MSC-certified fisheries (hoki, patagonian
toothfish) appear on Greenpeace’s Redlist indicates that while
MSC certification may be a good start in establishing traceability,
it is far from the gold standard of sustainability it professes to be.
Furthermore, a number of the Canadian fisheries currently under
MSC review are the worst environmental performers, such as
Atlantic scallop dredge fishery and the BC Fraser River Sockeye
fishery, which had such low stock levels in 2007 that not only were
the commercial and recreational fisheries closed, but harvesting by
First Nations for food and even ceremonial use was prohibited.126
Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a global non-profit
organization set up in 1997 by Unilever, the world’s largest buyer
of seafood, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the international
conservation organization, to find a solution to the problem of
overfishing. In 1999, the MSC became fully independent of both
organizations and today is funded by sources that include charitable
foundations and corporate organizations.
To date, MSC has certified 26 fisheries, which represents 8% of
global marine catch. Although no Canadian fisheries have yet been
certified, several have applied, including BC salmon (pink, chum and
sockeye), Pacific hake and halibut, and northern prawn (including
Newfoundland, Gulf of St. Lawrence and Scotian Shelf).127
Companies wishing to use the MSC seal on their products undergo
a chain of custody certification process that guarantees traceability
of MSC-labelled seafood, ensuring that it has been separated
from non-certified product at every stage of the process, from
boat to plate. The MSC certification process is promoted as open
Friend of the Sea (FOS) is an Italian-based certification scheme
which presents itself to the fishing industry as a quick and
inexpensive alternative to the more established MSC label.
For just 2000 Euros per year, a seafood product can be certified
and audited, a process which takes only a week and applies
28
Friend of the Sea
Aerial views of shrimp farms
along the coast of Tugaduaja,
Chanduy near Guayaquil
in Ecuador.
IDENTIFYING SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD: LABELLING, TRACEABILITY AND CERTIFICATION
Aquaculture Certification Council
THE HOKI HOAX: MSC CERTIFICATION
FOR NEW ZEALAND HOKI
Hoki stocks have dramatically declined, but that did not
stand in the way of the Marine Stewardship Council’s deciding
to give its tick of approval to New Zealand’s hoki fishery.
Since 2001, when the fishery was first certified to be a
sustainable fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC),
the government was forced to cut quotas in response
to sustainability concerns, and the hoki catch fell from
250,000 tonnes a year to 90,000 tonnes in 2004—a reduction
of more than 60%. Problems for future sustainability include
the fact that the catch is predominantly small fish and that
the hoki fishery lacks a fish stock recovery plan, which
is a requirement under the MSC’s own rules.
In addition to declining stock sizes and poor recruitment,
the hoki fishery also causes severe seabed disturbances
through bottom trawling and routinely kills hundreds of
seabirds and marine mammals as bycatch every year.
In 2004–05, for example, scientists estimate that 862 fur
seals and 501 seabirds drowned in hoki trawl nets.128
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) was formed by the
aquaculture industry and has developed a series of standards
for aquaculture, predominantly that of shrimp. It has a certification
body, the Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC), which certifies
products to the GAA standards. However, the ACC has previously
come under criticism because it is not fully independent from the
GAA (i.e., it is not a true third party) and therefore ACC certifications
have reduced credibility. 129
The WWF assessment of the ACC gave low scores for environmental
issues (46%), social issues (56%) and animal welfare (56%). For
example, on environmental issues there was insufficient regulation
to prevent escapees or the transfer of diseases and parasites,
no regulation to prevent new introduction of non-native species,
a lack of regulation on sourcing juveniles from the wild, insufficient
regulation on the protection of local wildlife and no regulation on
using more sustainable sources of fishmeal/oil in feeds. On social
issues there was a lack of labour standards and the ACC has
recently come under fire for having certified farms which use
child labour.
The bottom line
2001
catch 250,000 tons
(beginning of MSC certification)
2007
100,000 tons—a 60% decline
to both wild-capture fisheries and to aquaculture. FOS certification
relies on comparing information about fisheries which is already
in the public domain against a set of simple criteria. Too simple,
say critics, citing examples of criteria such as the 8% bycatch level
permitted for all fisheries, established simply by taking the global
bycatch average, ignoring all differences between ecosystems
in which fisheries operate.
In a WWF assessment of its aquaculture certification programme,
Friend of the Sea scored low on environmental issues (49%),
social issues (11%) and animal welfare issues (22%). For example,
on environmental performance for aquaculture operations there was
insufficient regulation on deforestation and restoration of mangroves,
insufficient regulation on effluent discharges, and no regulation on
prevention of transfer of disease and parasites. On social issues,
there was no regulation on labour rights or on local land conflicts
and land rights.
Greenpeace believes that certification schemes should not
certify products from depleted fish stocks and that all certified
fisheries must have an ecosystem-based management plan in
place. Certified products should not come from fisheries that involve
a threat to, or the killing of, vulnerable or endangered species.
Finally, given the global importance of marine reserves, large-scale
fisheries targeting stocks that lack the benefit of having “no-take”
marine reserves can rarely be sustainable and their certification
is questionable.
Greenpeace is of the opinion that no fully credible certification
system for wild-caught seafood currently exists and that the existing
aquaculture certification schemes present major shortcomings
in the way they consider environmental standards and social issues.
At present, a seafood label can at best help to identify the best
available choice from a particular fishery. Such labels are not
adequate indicators of whether the overall fishery is sustainable,
nor do they guarantee that the products have been legally caught.
They are certainly not indicators of whether the purchase of such
products is the best choice of seafood in absolute terms.
29
06
Seafood in
Canadian supermarkets
The Canadian retail food market is one of the most heavily concentrated environments
in the world and the top three players (Loblaw, Metro and Sobeys) account for roughly 75%
of the market. 130 Loblaw’s annual sales are equal to those of Sobeys, Metro and Safeway
combined, so the moves it makes have an important impact on all its competitors.
Within this concentration, however, hide a number of franchised
“independent” grocers affiliated with chains. Sobeys, for example,
has a hybridized ownership structure, with nearly two-thirds of
its stores operating as franchises. The unaffiliated independents
are mainly mom-and-pop grocers and convenience stores, with
a sprinkling of legendary supermarkets, including Pete’s Frootique
in Halifax, Fiesta Farms in Toronto and Stong’s and Choices
in Vancouver. When food stores of all sizes are included, the
“independents” hold some 40% of the total food sales market.131
Canada has one of the most competitive grocery price markets
in the world. With the arrival of Wal-Mart, competition is stiffening
even more. Part of the reason for that is that Wal-Mart’s nonunionized stores give it lower labor costs than other grocery chains.
Currently, Wal-Mart holds only 4% of the market share in the
Canadian food sector. But within the next ten years, some analysts
expect this number to double, with Supercenters predicted to
number 90 by 2010.132 While critics contend that small business
suffers from Wal-Mart’s arrival in communities,133 bigger grocers
also feel the hit, and Loblaw is already suffering from competition
from Wal-Mart in Ontario and Alberta.134
Wal-Mart became the largest grocer in the United States by
conquering a fragmented and somewhat inefficient grocery market,
but the scene in Canada is different. Each of the national chains
has developed banners covering different segments of the market,
including discount stores, traditional supermarkets and upscale
groceries. Discount grocery stores are reputed to have high
standards for fresh food—including seafood.135 Canada’s retailers
are global leaders in private label development (such as “President’s
Choice” for Loblaws or “Irresistibles” for Metro), which helps
promote banner loyalty and is good for the bottom line.
Shareholders don’t hold much sway in the Canadian supermarket
scene, even though the dominant companies are publicly owned.
Loblaw president Galen Weston controls more than half the
common shares of Loblaw through parent company Weston and
various holding companies. The Sobeys family controls two-thirds
of their stores through Empire Corporation. Wal-Mart is 40% owned
by members of the Walton family, and Overwaitea is 100% privately
owned. Notable exceptions are Metro, which is held by a large
variety of shareholders, and the Federated Cooperatives.
30
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
Very little action is being taken to evaluate seafood sold in supermarkets,
and even less to provide sustainable seafood policies.
There is an increasing concern for the environment in the
marketplace, and while projecting a green image is clearly
at least as important as the authentic practice, there are some
real changes happening on the ground in Canadian supermarkets.
Re-useable grocery bags are in vogue, organic food lines are
exploding, labelling of local products is improving and several
companies have policies to begin to cut waste and save energy.
In spite of these encouraging signs, change is extremely slow
in some areas. Consideration of the effects of our buying habits
on the oceans has been slight and Canadian supermarkets are
bringing up the rear in introducing sustainable seafood. As the
supermarket profiles below show, there is very little action being
taken to evaluate the seafood being sold in supermarkets and
even less in publicly available policies on sustainable seafood
purchasing.
European supermarkets—leading the way
to sustainable seafood
In October 2005, Greenpeace UK published a table that ranked
UK supermarkets on the basis of their seafood sourcing policies.
This laid the groundwork for Greenpeace’s sustainable seafood
campaign. Campaigns in Austria, France, Germany and the
Netherlands followed close behind. This work, in combination
with increasing public awareness of the urgency of the situation
facing our oceans as well as work by other organizations, has
led to important changes in the supermarket industry.
In the UK, the nine largest supermarkets have now adopted
seafood procurement policies which, to varying degrees, take
sustainability as a key criterion in purchasing fish products. Marks
and Spencers along with Waitrose have the most developed
policies and lead the Greenpeace ranking. Both companies
clearly outline their policies in annual corporate social responsibility
reports and employ qualified fisheries scientists to manage seafood
sourcing. Both also have meetings with suppliers and fishers
to help communicate customers’ preference for seafood that is
sustainable. If it is unclear where certain species originate, they
do not stock it. Marks and Spencers uses lists of unsustainable
fish and fish farms published by organizations such as the Marine
Conservation Society, but also creates its own lists and has internal
auditing programs. Waitrose has long-term partnerships with many
suppliers and works with them to make their policies sustainable.
Both supermarkets provide information on labels which are many
times more detailed than is legally required.136
MARKET SHARES OF
LARGEST CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
32%
LOBLAW
(PROVIGO/MAXI)
15%
SOBEYS (IGA)
12%
METRO (SUPER C)
SOURCE: Andrew Allentuck, Eve of Battle, Canadian Grocer. Oct 2006. Toronto.
Wal-Mart subsidiary Asda ranked last in the initial UK league table
but, after adopting a comprehensive sustainable seafood policy,
moved up to fifth place. The policy led to the delisting of Dover
sole, lumpfish, dogfish, skate, swordfish, as well as any cod caught
in the North Sea, and a commitment to begin selling only Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC)—certified fresh and frozen fish within
five years.137
In Germany, three supermarkets (REWE, Kaufland, Netto) have
recently developed sustainable seafood procurement policies
and one (Edeka) has changed its own brand products completely
to MSC-certified ones (for frozen and canned) and changed its
canned tuna to skipjack. REWE frozen fish labelling includes the
species, scientific name, production method, catch area, number
of catch area, harvesting method and stock. In the Netherlands,
several supermarkets now have a sustainable seafood policy
either for their home brand products or for all of their fish.138
Swedish retailers underwent dramatic changes just two months
after Greenpeace released its sustainability ranking of Swedish
supermarkets in the spring of 2008. Six out of seven of the chains
listed stopped selling all species on Greenpeace’s Redlist and
further tightened their sourcing policies.
31
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
In Sweden, six supemarmarkets representing 2000 out of 2700 stores delisted
all of Greenpeace’s redlisted seafood products and adopted ground-breaking
new sustainable seafood policies.
Does your supermarket measure up?
Does your supermarket sell sustainable seafood? Is it concerned
about the state of the ocean? Is it willing to use its power to change
things on the sea by delisting species in peril or implementing
sustainable seafood policies? Find out by reading the supermarket
profiles for each of Canada’s eight major supermarkets, in the
following section.
The research for this report began with a review of publicly
available information on supermarkets’ seafood policies—from
supermarkets’ websites, corporate social responsibility (CSR)
reports, annual reports, and press statements, and by surveying
the range of seafood available on supermarket shelves, in fish
counters in freezers. A questionnaire was sent to each supermarket
and followed up with letters and phone calls.
Supermarkets were then given the opportunity to update and
correct information in their profiles through written comments
and in meetings with Greenpeace.
Although several supermarkets expressed concern over the state
of the oceans in conversations following up on our questionnaire
and letters, little information was provided. Notable exceptions were
Overwaitea and Wal-Mart, which each provided oral and written
responses to their profiles.
Greenpeace received a “collective response” from the Canadian
Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD), an association whose
members include Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Canada Safeway
and the Federated Co-Operatives. According to the letter, “CCGD
and its membership are undertaking an analysis of domestic and
international sustainability practices and certification programs and
will use the findings to determine the best course for proceeding
in enhancing the industries’ procurement practices in this area.”
No details, no timeline.
Opposite is a table of Redlist species found in each of the eight
supermarkets profiled. Greenpeace research revealed that,
in practice, all surveyed supermarkets sell significant numbers
of Redlist species regardless of stated intentions to develop
sustainable seafood policies or support for sustainability initiatives.
This is confirmed by a recent report in Corporate Knights
Sustainable, featuring a survey and in-store visits at major Canadian
supermarkets. The report concluded that “None of the stores
we visited featured responsibly-farmed fish in any way. Grocers
should have information on fish origin and harvesting method
32
available to consumers and work with their suppliers to ensure
that the fish they sell is sourced using methods that do not cause
damage to the environment or non-target species.”137 This finding
underscores the need for comprehensive sustainable seafood
policies that include concrete steps for putting those policies into
practice, as well as training and monitoring procedures to ensure
implementation.
The results of our research clearly show that most Canadian
supermarkets continue to purchase seafood with little consideration
for the health of the species they sell, where or how it was caught
or farmed, or for the negative impacts on the wider marine
environment and affected coastal peoples. We have a long way
to go, and time—and fish—are running out.
THE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE
FOR SEAFOOD SOLUTIONS
In May 2008, fourteen conservation organizations from
Canada and the United States launched the Conservation
Alliance for Seafood Solutions (CASS), with the objective
of pursuing a common vision for sustainable seafood. The
groups use a range of approaches and promote six steps
for companies to take action to ensure a sustainable seafood
supply and protect ocean environments:
• making a commitment to develop and implement a
comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainable seafood;
• collecting data to assess and monitor the environmental
sustainability of their seafood products;
• buying environmentally responsible seafood;
• making information regarding their seafood products
publicly available;
• educating their consumers, suppliers, employees and
other key stakeholders about environmentally responsible
seafood; and
• engaging in and supporting policy and management
changes that lead to positive environmental outcomes
in fisheries and aquaculture.
The common vision promoted by CASS is a good starting
point for companies that buy and sell seafood, and interest by
the retail and food service industry in the initiative is growing.
Shrimp tops the list of
imported seafood in Canada.
Wild-caught shrimp are
generally bottom-trawled,
and shrimp farms are
wreaking havoc on
tropical ecosystems.
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
REDLISTS SPECIES IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
Atlantic cod
Atlantic haddock (scrod)
Atlantic halibut
Atlantic salmon (Farmed)
Atlantic sea scallops
Chilean seabass
Greenland halibut (turbot)
Hard shell clams (Arctic surf clams)
New Zealand hoki (blue grenadier)
Orange roughy
Sharks
Skates and rays
Swordfish
Tropical shrimps & prawns
Tuna — bluefin
Tuna — bigeye
Tuna — yellowfin
Loblaw
Metro
Sobeys
Safeway
Canada
Wal-Mart
Overwaitea
Costco
NOTE: These data were compiled through visits to close to a hundred supermarkets by volunteers, members and friends of Greenpeace. The retailers were then
invited to confirm or correct the information. Note that some stores offer a very limited range of fish and seafood, which could explain the limited numbers of fish
on the Redlist that are sold.
33
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
BACKGROUND
LOBLAW
Leader
or Laggard?
Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s largest food distributor, is owned in majority by Canadian billionnaire Galen Weston
(net worth of $7.7 billion). Mr. Weston controls George Weston Limited, which began as a single bakery in 1882 and
expanded over the course of the century to own over two dozen bakeries across North America. Mr. Weston also owns
Holt Renfrew and British supermarket Selfridges. Loblaw carries on its business through its subsidiaries and franchisees.
Franchisees enter into agreements with Loblaw requiring them to pay fees in exchange for services provided by the head
company as well as the right to use trademarks.
Known as the king of Canadian food retailers, in 2006 Loblaw experienced its first loss in almost 20 years following a
recent misadventure with general merchandising and made a major change in senior leadership. Under the new strategy
which followed, the company launched a series of ads promoting environmental products, from re-usable grocery bags
to lean hamburgers and organic baby food, starring Galen Weston himself.140
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
1 President’s Choice Circle, Brampton, ON L6Y 5S5
Tel: 905-459-2500
SALES 2007
CDN$ 29,407 million
STORES
672 corporate, 405 franchised, 451 associated
BANNERS
Atlantic SaveEasy, Atlantic Superstore, Dominion (in Newfoundland and Labrador), Extra
Foods, Fortinos, Loblaws, Maxi & Cie, No Frills, Provigo, The Real Canadian Superstore,
The Real Canadian Wholesale Club, SuperValu, Valu-mart, Your Independent Grocer, Zehrs,
Cash & Carry, and other banners
BRANDS
Over 7,900 label products marketed by Loblaw, under brand names including President’s
Choice, PC, President’s Choice Organics, President’s Choice Blue Menu, President’s Choice
Mini Chefs, no name, Joe Fresh Style, Club Pack, Green, Exact, Teddy’s Choice, and
Life@Home, President’s Choice Financial MasterCard®, PC Financial auto, home, travel
and pet insurance, PC Mobile phone service.
OWNERSHIP
Public, trades on Toronto Stock Exchange.Galen Weston owns 62.4% of George Weston
Limited, which carries 63.2% of Loblaw shares. AIM Trimark Investments owns 4.3%
and remaining shareholders hold less than 2% each of shares.
SEAFOOD POLICIES
34
WILD SEAFOOD
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Loblaw did not respond to our request for information about wild seafood procurement policy.
To our knowledge, Loblaw has no such policy.
AQUACULTURE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Loblaw did not respond to our request for information about aquaculture procurement policy.
To our knowledge, the company has no such policy.
LABELLING
Loblaw did not respond to our request for information about labelling. To our knowledge,
Loblaw does not provide sustainable seafood labelling or any information other than what
is required by law.
SUPPORT FOR
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
To our knowledge, Loblaw does not support any sustainable seafood initiative.
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
SEAFOOD PURCHASING PRACTICES
Greenpeace Canada Redlist products sold by this retailer: Atlantic cod, haddock, Atlantic halibut, Greenland halibut,
arctic surfclams, orange roughy, farmed Atlantic salmon, Atlantic sea scallop, Chilean seabass, shark, tropical shrimps
and prawns, skate, swordfish, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna.
In May 2008, Loblaw began a promotional campaign in which it claimed to be “the first major Canadian supermarket
to stand up for our oceans” and also the first to offer MSC-certified fish. However, according to the MSC and to other
supermarkets, for some time MSC products have also been sold in several other major supermarkets.141
FARMED SALMON
Until recently, Loblaw’s parent Weston was a leading North American producer of farmed
salmon. Its aquaculture and seafood operations paid $1.2 million in environmental penalties
between 2000 and 2005.142 In 2005, it sold both its east and west cost salmon
operations—Heritage Salmon Ltd.143
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
According to the Loblaw 2006 annual report, “Loblaw Companies Limited and its subsidiaries
are committed to responsible corporate citizenship.” The company “offers the broadest
selection of environmentally friendly food of any Canadian grocer,” including President’s
Choice Green products and President’s Choice Organics products. However, the company
does not sell private-label sustainable seafood products.
Loblaw’s Resource, Environment, and Waste Management Policy states that it will develop,
maintain and implement environmental policies, procedures and management systems and
conduct annual reviews of its environmental practices. The company is currently preparing
its first corporate social responsibility report.144
SOURCING PRACTICES
AND POLICIES
Loblaw Companies’ supplier code of conduct includes a section on environmental
commitments concerning waste, packaging and energy efficiency and also requires organic
products to be “certified in accordance with recognized standards by an accredited certifying
body” and that “suppliers are to have procedures in place to ensure that this certification
is not compromised in any way.” There is no mention of seafood sourcing or certification
in the supplier code of conduct.145
GREENPEACE COMMENTS
At the time this report went to press, Loblaw had not directly responded to multiple inquiries from Greenpeace about
its seafood policies. In addition, Loblaw was given an opportunity to correct and comment on the contents of this profile,
which it did not take. All of the information in this report is taken from corporate websites, annual reports, social
responsibility reports, in-store surveys, and other publicly available information, including media reports. Although
Greenpeace notes these certification initiatives by Loblaw, Greenpeace does not currently endorse any seafood certification
program, including the Marine Stewardship Council.
35
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
SUMMARY
SOBEYS
Betraying
Its Coastal Roots
Sobeys (Empire Company Limited) came to be as a single grocery store in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, in 1907 and has since
grown to become Canada’s second-largest food retailer, after Loblaw, under the ownership of Empire Company Limited.
It operates more than 1,300 food and drug stores across Canada. It also distributes food to its company-owned stores and
other retailers. The stores offer about 4,400 products under the Compliments private label. In the increasingly competitive
Canadian grocery market, Sobeys has recently repositioned itself as “your neighbourhood grocer,” with an emphasis on
service and high-quality food.
Controlled by the Sobey family, Empire operates movie theatres and develops and manages commercial and residential
real estate in addition to its central grocery operation.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
115 King Street, Stellarton, NS B0K 1S0
Tel: 902-755-4440
SALES 2007
CDN$ 13,408 million
STORES
1,314 food stores and supermarkets across Canada, of which 801 are franchised Sobeys
stores
BANNERS
Sobeys Group Inc, Lawtons Drug Stores Limited, Western Cellars, IGA, Thrifty Foods,
Price Chopper, Foodland, Commisso’s, Marché Bonichoix, Les Marchés Tradition,
Clover Farm, Needs, Rachelle-Bery
BRANDS
Compliments, Compliments Organics and the Compliments balance-equilibre lines
OWNERSHIP
Wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited. Empire’s shareholders are: DFS
Investments Limited, controlled by David F. Sobey (27.78%), Donald R. Sobey (27.77%) and
Dunvegan Holdings Limited, jointly controlled by the children of William Sobey (28.85%).
SEAFOOD POLICIES
36
WILD SEAFOOD
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Sobeys did not respond to our request for information about wild seafood procurement policy.
To our knowledge, Sobeys has no such policy.
In its correspondence with Greenpeace, Thrifty (one of Sobey’s banners) noted that
“In accordance with company policy to provide traceability information for our customers
wherever possible, we do label and use appropriate signage to inform shoppers of the
nature and origin of many of our seafood products.”146
AQUACULTURE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Sobeys did not respond to our request for information about aquaculture procurement
policies. To our knowledge, Sobeys has no such policy.
LABELLING
Sobeys did not respond to our request for information about labelling. To our knowledge,
Sobeys does not provide sustainable seafood labelling or provide any information other
that what is required by law.
SUPPORT FOR
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
To our knowledge, Sobeys does not support any sustainable seafood initiative.
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
SEAFOOD PURCHASING PRACTICES
Greenpeace Canada Redlist products sold by this retailer: Atlantic cod, Atlantic haddock, Atlantic halibut, Greenland halibut,
Arctic surfclams, orange roughy, farmed Atlantic salmon, New Zealand hoki, Chilean seabass, shark, tropical shrimp, skate,
swordfish, Atlantic sea scallops, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna.
Thrifty’s, which was purchased by Sobey’s in 2007, has removed nearly all farmed salmon products from its stores—
it now sells only candied farmed salmon nuggets. Thrifty’s has also sold more environmentally sustainable closed
containment farmed salmon in the past when it was available, and has reportedly agreed to purchase closed containment
product from the commercial-scale project being developed in BC.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
No environmental policy or management system is reported in Sobeys’ 2006 annual report
or website. The report states that the company is “continually enhancing its programs in
the areas of environmental, health and safety and is in compliance with relevant legislation.
Employee awareness and training programs are conducted and environmental, health and
safety risks are reviewed on a regular basis. The Board of Directors receives regular reports
which review outstanding matters, identify new legislation and outline new programs being
implemented across the Company to positively impact the environment and employee health
and safety.”
Sobeys aims to “make available, when possible, products that are considered to be
environmentally responsible; encourage food manufacturers and suppliers to produce and
package products in an environmentally responsible manner; and encourage the achievement
of increased levels of solid waste management through source reduction, recycling and
reuse.”147
Sobeys’ Thrifty Foods reports being in discussion with Ocean Wise, the Vancouver Aquarium’s
seafood conservation program; however, it is not listed as a partner according to the group’s
website, www.oceanwisecanada.org. Thifty took the initiative of de-listing seabass because
of the manner in which these stocks were fished and processed.148
GREENPEACE COMMENTS
At the time this report went to press, Sobeys had not directly responded to multiple inquiries from Greenpeace about its
seafood policies, with the notable exception of the Thrify banner (see above). In addition, Sobeys was given an opportunity
to correct and comment on the contents of this profile, which it did not take. All of the information in this report is taken
from corporate websites, annual reports, social responsibility reports, in-store surveys, and other publicly available
information, including media reports.
37
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
SUMMARY
METRO
Turning
a Blind Eye
Metro is Quebec’s largest food retailer and Canada’s third. As of September 2007, Metro supplied 655 stores in Quebec
and Ontario. The majority of these supermarkets belong to independent owners, who have leases or affiliation agreements
with Metro. Metro also supplies almost 3,700 customers such as oil companies, hotels and restaurants, as well as small
retail outlets. Metro also has three cash-and-carry stores and over a dozen warehouses for the procurement and storage
of meat, frozen foods, and fruits and vegetables, as well as to supply institutional clients and small retail outlets.
Between 2005 and 2007, Metro acquired 42 new stores, including Grossiste Sue Shang Inc., a grocery distributor serving
independent convenience stores in Quebec, and A&P Canada. From its current strong financial position, it may be looking
to enter western Canada by buying Overwaitea Food Group or Safeway Canada Limited.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
11011 boul. Maurice-Duplessis, Montreal, QC H1C 1V6
Tel: 514-643-1000
SALES 2007
CDN$ 10,673 million
STORES
553 stores and 263 pharmacies
BANNERS
Metro Inc., Metro Plus, A & P Canada Inc., Loeb Canada Inc., McMahon Distributeur
Pharmaceutique Inc., The Great Atlantic and Pacific Company of Canada, Ultra Food & Drug,
The Barn Markets, Super C, Food Basics
Metro’s Pêcheries Atlantiques division is Quebec’s largest distributor of fresh and frozen
seafood products.
BRANDS
Irresistible, Irresistibles, Merit Selection, Merite, Selection, Super C, Econochoice,
Master Choice, and Equality
OWNERSHIP
Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited (19.1%), Fidelity Management Research Corp. (10.6%),
Regroupement des marchands actionnaires inc. (1.7%)
SEAFOOD POLICIES
38
WILD SEAFOOD
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Metro did not respond to our request for information about wild seafood procurement policy.
To our knowledge, Metro has no such policy.
AQUACULTURE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Metro did not respond to our request for information about aquaculture policy.
To our knowledge, Metro has no formal wild aquaculture procurement policies.
LABELLING
Metro did not respond to our request for information about labelling. To our knowledge,
Metro does not provide sustainable seafood labelling or provide any information other
than what is required by law.
SUPPORT FOR
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
To our knowledge, Metro does not support any sustainable seafood initiative.
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
SEAFOOD PURCHASING PRACTICES
Greenpeace Canada Redlist products sold by Metro: Atlantic cod, Atlantic haddock, Atlantic halibut, Greenland halibut,
orange roughy, farmed Atlantic salmon, Chilean seabass, shark, tropical shrimps and prawns, skate, scallops, swordfish,
bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
The company has an environmental policy that was established in 1998. According Metro’s
2006 annual report, the policy “requires the Company to take the necessary measures
in order to ensure compliance with applicable legislation and improve its environmental
performance on a continuing basis.”
According to Jantzi Research, the company has no formal environmental management
system, though it reports having an informal one. Furthermore, “Metro has not indicated
whether its agreements with its affiliate and franchise retailers include stipulations on
environmental management. It is also unclear whether Metro monitors its affiliate and
franchise retailers’ environmental performance.” 149
The company does not have an environmental committee of the board of directors. Metro
reports that it has a senior management team that is responsible for environmental issues.
GREENPEACE COMMENTS
At the time this report went to press, Metro had not directly responded to multiple inquiries from Greenpeace about its
seafood policies. In addition, Metro was given an opportunity to correct and comment on the contents of this profile, which
it did not take. All of the information in this report is taken from corporate websites, annual reports, social responsibility
reports, in-store surveys, and other publicly available information, including media reports.
39
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
BACKGROUND
WAL-MART
CANADA
Getting
Geared Up
Wal-Mart, owner of Wal-Mart Canada, is the world’s largest retailer, with about 6,775 stores, including some
1,075 discount stores, 2,250 combination discount and grocery stores, and 580 warehouse stores. About 60% of its
stores are in the US. Wal-Mart also has operations in Mexico, Asia, Europe, and South America. Wal-Mart entered Canada
in 1994, with the acquisition of the 122-store Woolco, a division of Woolworth Canada. Wal-Mart Canada’s discount stores
offer up to 80,000 products, including apparel, household goods, hardware, toys, sporting goods, health and beauty aids,
food and other merchandise. While it holds only roughly 4% of the market in groceries in Canada, it continues to grow.
While Wal-Mart’s primary business strategy of locating its stores in rural areas near small towns has come under fire
for its impact on small businesses in many downtowns, it has recently taken significant environmental initiatives toward
cutting waste, using renewable energy and sourcing sustainable products.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
1940 Argentia Rd., Mississauga, ON L5N 1P9
Tel: 800-328-0402
SALES 2007
US$ 17,425 million (estimated for Canadain operations); estimated food sales for 2005:
CDN$ 4,220 million
STORES
Wal-Mart operates discount stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club,
in locations in the United States as well as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico,
South Korea and the United Kingdom. There are currently 298 Wal-Mart stores in Canada.
BRANDS
Sam’s Choice, Great Value
OWNERSHIP
Wal-Mart Canada is owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., which trades on the New York Stock
Exchange. The estate of founder Sam Walton owns 42% of Wal-Mart stores.
SEAFOOD POLICIES
40
WILD SEAFOOD
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
According to Wal-Mart’s report Sustainability Progress to Date 2007–2008, “In February
of 2006, we made a pledge to source all wild-caught fresh and frozen fish for the North
American and UK market from fisheries that meet the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC)
independent environmental standard within the next three to five years. Wal-Mart Canada
is currently engaged in discussions with MSC.150
AQUACULTURE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
According to Wal-Mart’s report Sustainability Progress to Date 2007–2008, “For farm-raised
aquaculture products like shrimp, we ask suppliers to obtain certification by the Aquaculture
Certification Council, Inc. (ACC), an independent, non-governmental body established to certify
social, environmental and food safety standards at aquaculture facilities around the world.
The ACC audits the processors’ hatcheries and farms to ensure they comply with the best
aquaculture practices as established by the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA).” The company
states that “Wal-Mart Canada’s first priority is to extablish a program with the MSC, and that
a program with AAC will be reviewed as a second tier process.” 151
LABELLING
Wal-Mart Canada did not respond to our request for information about labelling. To our
knowledge, the company does not provide labelling for sustainable seafood products
or provide any information other than what is required by law.
SUPPORT FOR
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
Wal-Mart states that it is “working with Conservation International and other organizations
to research investing in Marine Protected Areas that help preserve ocean wildlife and healthy
fish populations.”152 The company states that it will expand its effort to other countries. “Clearly,
protecting our fisheries and ocean wildlife is an issue that knows no borders. Therefore,
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
our next step in this area will be to replicate the progress we have made in North America
on a broader, international scale. By continuing to leverage the strength of our Network and
using our learnings from our U.S. efforts, we are confident that we will be able to get there.”153
Wal-Mart Canada donated $10,000 to Musqueam Ecosystem Conservation Society,
“a community based non-profit organization working through science and traditional
ecological knowledge to conserve the full diversity of habitats and their species, within
the Musqueam Ecosystem, now and for future generations.” The organization aims to save
Vancouver’s last wild salmon stream.
SEAFOOD PURCHASING PRACTICES
Greenpeace Canada Redlist products sold by Wal-Mart: Atlantic cod, Atlantic haddock, Atlantic sea scallops, Arctic
surfclams, orange roughy, tropical shrimps and prawns, tuna. The company has engaged to work with its suppliers
to build awareness of Redlist products.154
On August 31, 2006, Wal-Mart announced that ten fish products were MSC-certified in locations across the United States.
The company has informed Greenpeace US that “Within the next two to four years, all of our wild-caught fish sold in our
stores will be certified by the MSC.” Globally, Wal-Mart currently offers 22 MSC-certified products—including wild-caught
salmon fillets, New Zealand hoki fillets, Alaskan pollock fillets, and halibut fillets—all species which figure on Greenpeace
US’s Redlist.155
In May 2007, Wal-Mart announced that it would require all of its foreign shrimp suppliers to certify their farms to standards
developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance or Aquaculture Certification Council, organizations that provide guidelines for
environmentally sustainable shrimp harvesting (see above). Wal-Mart is among the world’s largest purchasers of shrimp
and sells more than 50 million pounds of shrimp annually. The company purchases the majority of its shrimp from
Thailand.
Wal-Mart Canada has met with its seafood suppliers to outline its expectations. Its “Seafood Sustainability Value Network,”
an internal structure to research products, receives guidance from Wal-Mart US and is following its lead for both wild and
farmed seafood purchasing policies.156
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Wal-Mart Canada’s Corporate Values Report 2006 states: “We will demonstrate
environmental leadership by reducing the greenhouse gas footprint of our operations and
by leading outreach programs that preserve and enhance the natural environment.” In 2006,
the company established the goal “to be 100 per cent supplied by renewable energy, to
produce zero waste and to provide our customers with more environmentally responsible
product choices.” The company states that “sustainability is not about just having our own
house in order. It’s about aggressively promoting sustainability among all stakeholders
in our company—our customers, suppliers, associates and communities.” Wal-Mart has
formed several networks that draw representatives from among its executives, suppliers,
environmental organizations, and regulators, to discuss environmental goals in various areas,
including seafood.
GREENPEACE COMMENTS
The information in this report about Wal-Mart is taken from correspondence with the company, corporate websites,
annual reports, social responsibility reports, in-store surveys, consumer surveys, and other publicly available information,
including media reports. Although Greenpeace notes these certification initiatives by Wal-Mart, Greenpeace does not
currently endorse any seafood certification program, including the Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture
Certification Council program. It is of note that in Europe, Wal-Mart subsidiary Asda adopted a comprehensive sustainable
seafood policy in January 2006 that ended sales of six Redlist species.
41
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
SUMMARY
COSTCO
WHOLESALE
CANADA
Bulk Inaction
Costco Wholesale is the largest warehouse club operator in North America. Costco Wholesale Canada operates
70 membership warehouse clubs in nine Canadian provinces, thus outnumbering its rival, Wal-Mart-owned Sam’s Club.
Customers must pay a membership fee to shop at Costco; on-line shopping is now also available. The big-box stores
offer discount prices on about 4,000 products, including food, appliances, office products, furniture and software. Costco
(then Price Club) opened its first Canadian warehouse in Montreal in 1986. Within its well-established niche of large bulk
item and low margins, Costco is continuing a slow expansion.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
415 West Hunt Club Road, Ottawa, ON K2E 1C5
Tel: 613-221-2000
SALES 2007
US$ 9,130 million (estimated for Canadian operations); estimated food sales for 2005:
CDN$ 4,040 million
STORES
70 membership warehouse clubs
BRANDS
Kirkland Signature
OWNERSHIP
Owned by Costco Wholesale. Costco Wholesale’s largest shareholder is Davis Selected
Advisers, LP (14.2%).
SEAFOOD POLICIES
42
WILD SEAFOOD
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Costco did not respond to our request for information about wild seafood procurement
policy. To our knowledge, the company has no such policy.
AQUACULTURE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Costco did not respond to our request for information about aquaculture procurement
policy. To our knowledge, the company has no such policy.
LABELLING
Costco did not respond to our request for information about labelling policy. To our
knowledge, Costco does not provide sustainable seafood labelling or provide any information
other than what is required by the law.
SUPPORT FOR
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
To our knowledge, Costco does not support any sustainable seafood initiative.
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
SEAFOOD PURCHASING PRACTICES
Greenpeace Canada Redlist products sold by Costco: Atlantic haddock, farmed Atlantic salmon, tropical shrimps and
prawns, Atlantic sea scallops, Chilean sea bass, bigeye and yellowfin tuna.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Costco has no formal environmental policy. According to social responsibility reports, the
company is lagging in environmental initiatives and does very little reporting on environmental
or supply-chain issues.157
FARMED SALMON
In January 2004, two environmental advocacy groups (the Environmental Working Group
and the Center for Environmental Health), announced their intention to sue Costco and
several US grocery chains as well as farmed salmon producers in Canada and Europe.
The groups alleged that the companies had neglected to warn consumers of potentially
dangerous levels of carcinogens, following a January 2004 Science study reporting higher
levels of contaminants in farmed than wild salmon. The study concluded that the source
of contamination was polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the feed given to farmed fish.
Costco had previously announced that it would begin screening its imported farmed salmon
for a suspected carcinogen called malachite green. Used as a fungicide in fish, this dye was
banned in the US in 1991 but was subsequently detected in Chilean farmed salmon. Although
the dye is also illegal in Chile, enforcement in aquaculture is reported to be weak.158 In
March 2008, a New York Times story describing high infection rates and antibiotic use due
to overcrowding in salmon farms named Costco as a major seller. While Safeway reportedly
acted to reduce volumes of Chilean farmed salmon sold until the situation improves, Costco
announced that their product specifications were stringent and no change was called for.159
GREENPEACE COMMENTS
At the time this report went to press, Costco had not responded to multiple inquiries from Greenpeace about its seafood
policies. In addition, Costco was given an opportunity to correct and comment on the contents of this profile, which it did
not take. All of the information in this report is taken from corporate websites, annual reports, social responsibility reports,
in-store surveys, and other publicly available information, including media reports.
43
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
SUMMARY
CANADA
SAFEWAY
Stonewalling
the Ocean
Safeway Inc. is one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America. As of September 8, 2007, the company
operated 1,738 stores in the western, southwestern, Rocky Mountain, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States and in
western Canada. Canada Safeway is a food retailer with 222 stores located in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and
Saskatchewan. It serves independent grocery stores and institutional customers through four distribution centres and has
about a dozen Canadian plants that make or process meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, bread, and other foods.
Canada Safeway accounts for nearly 14% of parent Safeway’s total sales.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
PO Box 864, Stn. “M,” Calgary, AB T2P 2J6
Tel: 1-877-SAFEWAY
SALES 2007
US$ 6,015 million (estimated for Canadian operations); estimated food sales for 2005:
CDN$ 5,834 million
STORES
222 stores in Canada (1,738 in North America)
BRANDS
Edwards, Family Foods, Lucerne, Mrs. Wright’s, Safeway, Safeway Select, Sunny Dawn
OWNERSHIP
Canada Safeway Ltd. is owned by Safeway Inc., which is owned by AllianceBernstein LP
(17.4%), Brandes Investment Partners LP (6.7%), Fidelity Management & Research (6.2%)
SEAFOOD POLICIES
44
WILD SEAFOOD
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Canada Safeway did not respond to our request for information about wild seafood
procurement policy. To our knowledge, the company has no such policy.
AQUACULTURE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Canada Safeway did not respond to our request for information about aquaculture
procurement policy. To our knowledge, the company has no such policy.
LABELLING
Canada Safeway did not respond to our request for information about labelling policy.
To our knowledge, Safeway does not provide sustainable seafood labelling or provide
any information other that what is required by law.
SUPPORT FOR
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
To our knowledge, Safeway does not support any sustainable seafood initiative,
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
SEAFOOD PURCHASING PRACTICES
Greenpeace Redlist products sold by Safeway: Atlantic cod, Atlantic haddock, Atlantic halibut, Arctic surf clams, orange
roughy, farmed Atlantic salmon, Atlantic sea scallops, Chilean seabass, shark, tropical shrimps and prawns, yellowfin tuna.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Safeway’s website states that “Safeway recognizes that air, water, soil and vegetation in our
communities are vital resources and must be kept as free as possible from negative effects.
To assure we do our part to protect against harmful environmental impacts, the company
conducts its business in an environmentally responsible manner.”
SALMON CONTROVERSIES
Safeway has been involved in several legal cases involving farmed salmon or mercury:
Two environmental advocacy groups accused Safeway of failing to warn consumers of what
they said were potentially dangerous levels of carcinogens. Law firm Hagens Berman Sobol
Shapiro claims that the food giant did not accurately label farm-raised salmon. The California
attorney general filed suits against five grocery stores, including Safeway, alleging that
the companies failed to warn consumers that tuna, swordfish and shark sold in their stores
contain mercury, which is linked to cancer and birth defects. As a result, California grocers
began posting warnings that certain types of fresh fish may contain mercury.
In November 2007, protests were held in Vancouver and San Francisco against Safeway’s
continued selling of farmed salmon. The group which organized the demonstrations, the
Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR), an eight-member coalition based in BC,
is asking Safeway to phase out the sale of farmed salmon and work proactively to improve
the sustainability of production. CAAR has targeted Safeway’s farmed salmon purchases since
2003 and concerned consumers have sent thousands of faxes to Safeway’s head offices.
In 2007, CAAR invited the President and Chief Operating Officer of Safeway Canada, Chuck
Mulvenna, to tour the Broughton Archipelago on the BC coast and meet with scientists and
First Nations people, with a focus on observing the impact that sea lice from salmon farms
are having on wild pink salmon. Safeway has not publicly responded to the campaign and
has not changed its farmed salmon purchasing practices.160
Safeway recently made a decision to reduce purchases of Chilean farmed salmon,
following a report in The New York Times describing high infection rates and antibiotic use
due to overcrowding in salmon farms.161 CAAR has expressed concern that Safeway will
attempt to buy more farmed salmon from BC, where parasite outbreaks on farmed fish
are threatening entire populations of wild salmon.162
GREENPEACE COMMENTS
At the time this report went to press, Safeway had made no written response to multiple inquiries from Greenpeace about
its seafood policies. In addition, Safeway was given an opportunity to correct and comment on the contents of this profile,
which it did not take. All of the information in this report is taken from corporate websites, annual reports, social
responsibility reports, in-store surveys, and other publicly available information, including media reports.
45
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
SUMMARY
OVERWAITEA
Finding Its
Sea Legs?
Overwaitea Food Group (OFG) is one of western Canada’s leading grocers. OFG operates over one hundred supermarkets
under a number of banners, including Save-On-Foods and Urban Fare. OFG is a division of The Jim Pattison Group,
Canada’s third-largest private company, with sales of over $6.1 billion in 2005. Based in BC, it is present in over
383 locations worldwide, with holdings that include Ripley’s Believe It or Not, food wholesaler and retailer Buy-Low Foods,
the Canadian Fishing Company, and the News Group (North America’s second-largest magazine and newspaper
distributor).
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
19855-92A Ave., Langley, BC V1M 3B6
Tel: 604-888-1213
SALES
Company does not release this information.
EMPLOYEES
15,000
STORES
113 stores located throughout western Canada.
BANNERS
Overwaitea Foods, Save-On-Foods, PriceSmart Foods, Urban Fare Cooper’s Foods and
Bulkley Valley Wholesale
BRANDS
Western Classics, Value Priced, and Good & Kind
OWNERSHIP
OFG is a division of The Jim Pattison Group, one of Canada’s largest private companies.
SEAFOOD POLICIES
WILD SEAFOOD
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
The Overwaitea Food Group been working with the David Suzuki Foundation and has
officially endorsed the sustainable seafood initiatives of the Conservation Alliance for Seafood
Solutions (see chapter 6). Overwaitea states that it is also now a member of the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC), with whom they are working to increase the presence of
sustainable seafood items in stores. The company has made a commitment to ensure
that all of their private label products are MSC-certified, though they have not released
a deadline for this to be achieved.
Overwaitea has committed to using a preferred supplier criterion once it begins selling
MSC-certified products, where MSC products will be promoted over “redlisted” items.163
46
AQUACULTURE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Overwaitea does not currently have an aquaculture procurement policy although it is in
discussion with the David Suzuki Foundation on this issue.
LABELLING
Overwaitea does not currently provide sustainable seafood labelling. However, it has made
a commitment to work toward MSC certification of its private labels.
SUPPORT FOR
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
Recent partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation.
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
SEAFOOD PURCHASING PRACTICES
Greenpeace Redlist products sold by Overwaitea: Atlantic haddock, Atlantic halibut, farmed Atlantic salmon, Atlantic sea
scallops, tropical shrimps and prawns, yellowfin tuna.
It is worth noting that Overwaitea’s owner, The Jim Pattison Group, also holds The Canadian Fishing Company, which
produces canned wild Pacific salmon. According to its website, “GoldSeal® Seafoods does not process farmed salmon,
nor do we own salmon farms. In fact, we specifically added the “wild” label to our canned salmon products to respond
to consumer demand and inquiries.”164
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Overwaitea has adopted three “Green Goals” for waste reduction and energy use as well
as the sale of eco-friendly products. The company aims to have 90% of the product mix
be “eco-friendly” by 2010. It is a strong promoter of local production, and says that “we’re
Western Canada’s #1 supporter of local growers, producers and suppliers. When in season,
more than 85% of our fresh fruits and vegetables are grown locally.” The company has also
encouraged its customers, through its promotional material, to eat organic food and consume
less meat. Overwaitea won an Environmental Leadership Award from the federal government
in 1994, an environmental award from RCBC in 2003 and Powersmart excellence awards
from BC Hydro in 2005 and 2006.
GREENPEACE COMMENTS
The information in this report about Overwaitea is taken from correspondence with Overwaitea, corporate websites, annual
reports, social responsibility reports, in-store surveys, and other publicly available information, including media reports.
Although Greenpeace notes these certification initiatives by Overwaitea, Greenpeace does not currently endorse any
seafood certification program, including the Marine Stewardship Council.
47
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
SUMMARY
FEDERATED
CO-OPERATIVES
Unwilling
to Co-operate
Federated Co-operatives is an enterprise based on the fundamental principles of co-operation. Created in 1928 as
an initiative of locally-owned retail co-operatives which wanted to provide provincial wholesales in order to expand their
buying power, it merged with co-operative wholesales in the four western provinces along with a cooperative refinery to
create the Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL). It provides manufacturing, wholesaling, distribution and administrative
services to its 281 owner/members, which are made up of retail cooperatives in over 500 communities across western
Canada. Federated’s operations and services include food stores, pharmacies, gas stations and convenience stores,
and travel services. It is the largest non-financial co-operative in Canada.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
401 22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0H2
Tel: (306) 244-3311
SALES 2006
CDN$ 4,400 million
EMPLOYEES
18,000 (FCL and member retail co-operatives)
STORES
The Grocery People Ltd. (TGP) is a grocery wholesaler, supplying food products and related
items to more than 300 independent retailers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, western Ontario, Nunavut, Yukon and Northwest Territories. TGP also supplies fresh
produce to retail co-operatives in northern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba
and western Ontario. TGP and Calgary Co-op are joint owners of The Produce People Ltd.
(TPP), which operates the produce-handling facility at FCL’s food distribution centre in Calgary.
BANNERS
The Grocery People, Super A Foods,™ Bigway Foods,™ and Tags™
BRANDS
Western Classics, Value Priced, and Good & Kind
OWNERSHIP
Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) and its member retail co-operatives, are united as the
Co-operative Retailing System (CRS). Each retail co-op is an autonomous business, owned
by individual co-op members. Each individual member has one vote, which gives him/her the
right to participate in the co-op’s democratic decision-making process. Individual members
may participate in their retail co-op by attending the annual meeting or other meetings,
by serving on committees, and by standing for election to the co-op’s board of directors.
SEAFOOD POLICIES
48
WILD SEAFOOD
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Federated Co-operatives did not respond to our request for information about wild seafood
procurement policy. To our knowledge, Federated Co-operatives has no such policy.
AQUACULTURE
PROCUREMENT POLICIES
Federated Co-operatives did not respond to our request for information about aquaculture
procurement policy. To our knowledge, the cooperative has no formal aquaculture
procurement policies
LABELLING
Federated Co-operatives did not respond to our request for information about aquaculture
procurement policy. To our knowledge, Federated Co-operatives does not provide sustainable
seafood labelling or provide any information other than what is required by the law.
SUPPORT FOR
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
To our knowledge, Federated Co-operatives does not support any sustainable seafood
initiative.
SUPERMARKET PROFILES
SEAFOOD IN CANADIAN SUPERMARKETS
SEAFOOD PURCHASING PRACTICES
Greenpeace Redlist products sold by this retailer: information not available at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
To our knowledge, Federated Co-operatives has no formal environmental policy.
GREENPEACE COMMENTS
At the time this report went to press, Federated Co-operatives had not directly responded to multiple inquiries from
Greenpeace about its seafood policies. In addition, Federated Co-operatives was given an opportunity to correct and
comment on the contents of this profile, which it did not take. All of the information about FCL in this report is taken from
corporate websites, annual reports, social responsibility reports, in-store surveys, and other publicly available information,
including media reports.
49
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
What supermarkets
can do
What you
can do
Canadian supermarkets can help set industry-wide standards
to promote sustainable alternatives to over-fished and threatened
fish species. Here are some simple steps supermarkets can take
to make the seafood they sell more sustainable:
You can help support seafood sustainability by taking the following
steps:
1. Stop selling redlisted species. The first and most important
step for retailers is to immediately commit to removing from
sale those species most in peril due to destructive or illegal
fishing or aquaculture (see Greenpeace Redlist in chapter 4).
2. Adopt and implement a procurement policy to ensure
the seafood sold is sustainable. Retailers must adopt
procurement policies that will ensure the long-term sustainability
of all the seafood products they sell. This is good both for
the environment and for business, as consumers increasingly
consider the impact of their seafood purchases on the marine
environment.
3. Inform suppliers of sustainability requirements. Seafood
retailers must help transform the seafood industry by requiring
sustainable seafood products from their suppliers.
4. Label seafood products so that customers can make
informed choices. Include the common and scientific
names of the seafood, where and how it was caught or raised,
the stock status, and the date of capture.
1. Contact your local supermarket and ask them to avoid
redlisted species, support sustainable options, label seafood
products and improve their purchasing policies.
2. Ask questions. Next time you’re in the grocery store, ask the
seafood counter clerk or the store manager about the type of
seafood offered and how it was caught. If they don’t know, ask
them to find out for you so you can make sustainable choices.
3. Check labels. Although current labelling practices make it
difficult for consumers to make sustainable choices, and rarely
provide the species name, the precise area of catch, or the
fishing method used, some fish processing companies and
independent retailers do provide this type of labelling information.
4. Help Redlist species recover by refusing to buy these species
and by encouraging your local supermarket to do the same.
5. Join Greenpeace to help protect the world’s oceans.
Learn more and get involved to protect the world’s oceans at:
www.greenpeace.org/canada.
A PROMISE IS A PROMISE: SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD POLICIES
Supermarkets can safeguard our oceans by developing a
sustainable seafood procurement policy. Many supermarkets
around the world have already taken steps towards creating
policies that include and exceed the elements listed below,
and are working with their suppliers to ensure sustainability.
At a minimum, a sustainable seafood procurement policy
should include:
• a definition of sustainability and criteria for suppliers
to meet to be deemed sustainable sources;
• a commitment to work with suppliers to source seafood
from the most sustainable sources available, and to not
source from suppliers that refuse to change to a sustainable
approach;
50
criteria to screen out unsustainable stocks;
a commitment to work with other stakeholders to improve
management and sustainability of fisheries;
• labelling criteria for all seafood that include common
and scientific names, FAO catch area, stock (wild), farm
(cultivated), fishing gear or farming method, and catch date;
• training for staff responsible for buying and selling seafood
on sustainability issues and company policies; and
• consumer outreach and education to promote sustainability
in the seafood marketplace.
•
•
Greenpeace volunteers
talk to customers about
destructive fishing and bottom
trawling outside the entrance
of a supermarket in the UK.
Conclusion
In increasing numbers, consumers are demanding sustainable
and environmentally responsible products in the marketplace.
The trend towards sustainability is undeniable, and supermarkets
are well-positioned to deliver sustainable seafood choices. In
a competitive and ever-changing industry, supermarkets have
everything to gain by developing forward-thinking, environmentminded policies that reflect modern buying preferences.
Canadian supermarkets have a unique opportunity to reshape
the way we catch and consume seafood. By making sustainable
seafood choices available, while removing Redlist species from
the shelves, supermarkets can take commercial pressure off the
most exploited and over-fished species, allowing them to recover
and rebuild. The health of the world’s fish stocks and the wider
marine environment depends on such action.
51
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
Endnotes
1
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23
Food for Thought. 2007. Strategic Information Services. North America’s Food
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2
Pauly, D., and J. Maclean. 2003. In a perfect ocean: Fisheries and ecosystem
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24
Clover, Charles. 2006. The end of the line: How overfishing is changing the
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3
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25
4
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26
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27
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28
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31
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32
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18
Myers, R.A., and C.A. Ottensmeyer. 2005. Extinction risk in marine species. In:
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19
Worm, Boris, Heike K. Lotze, and Ransom A. Myers. 2004. Ecosystem effects
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52
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The green grocers: How green are your greens? Canada’s grocery store guide
and scorecard. Food Issue 2008, Vol. 6.4.
119 http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/aquaculture/item5218.html.
140 Foster, P. 2007. Who’s minding the store? Toronto Life, December. Loblaws
Annual Report, 2006.
120 Mangrove Action Project. 2007. Lampung Declaration Against Industrial Shrimp
Aquaculture.
141 Personal communication, Marc MacPherson, Commercial Manager, MSC
Americas, May 7, 2008.
121 Hites, Ronald A., et al. 2004. Global assessment of organic contaminants
in farmed salmon. Science Vol. 303, no. 5655, pp. 226–229.
142 Globe and Mail. 2004. Report on Business. Corporate social responsibility
ranking. March 2004.
122 WWF (World Wildlife Fund). 2007. Benchmarking study on international
aquaculture certification programmes: Environmental impacts, social issues
and animal welfare. World Wildlife Fund, Zurich, Switzerland, and Oslo, Norway.
96 pp.
143 Canadian Press. 2005. Weston sells BC fish farm business to Cermaq. July 20.
123 Greenpeace UK. A recipe for disaster: Supermarkets’ insatiable appetite for
seafood,
124 Ward, T.J., 2008 Barriers to biodiversity conservation in marine fishery
certification. Fish and Fisheries, vol 9, p. 169-177.
125 Cherry, Drew. 2006. Path to eco-label rockier the second time around. Intrafish
June.
126 Hume, Mark. 2008. Ottawa calls on BC natives to ration sockeye catch.
The Globe and Mail, Apr 30 2008, pg. A6.
144 Corporate Knights: The Canadian magazine for responsible business. 2008.
The green grocers: How green are your greens? Canada’s grocery store guide
and scorecard. Food Issue 2008, Vol. 6.4.
145 Jantzi Research. 2007. Loblaw Companies Limited Canadian social investment
database. March.
146 Jantzi Research. 2007. Metro Inc. Canadian Social Investment Database. March
147 Undated letter to Greenpace Canada, May 2007.
148 Sobeys. Website:
http://corporate.sobeys.com/English/Our_Company/company.asp.
149 Undated letter to Greenpace Canada, May 2007.
127 MSC (Marine Stewardship Council). 2008. MSC website, accessed May 8.
http://www.msc.org/html/content_484.htm.
150 Personal communication, John Lawrence, director, Corporate Social
Responsibility, Wal-Mart Canada, May 8, 2008.
128 New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries.
http://www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/SOF/ Species.htm?code=HOK&list=name.
New Zealand Department of Conservation http://www.doc.govt.nz/.
MSC Re-assessment report of the New Zealand hoki fishery, 2006.
www.msc.org/assets/docs/New_Zealand_Hoki/HFMC_ReAssRep_Final_Revise
dJul2006.pdf. Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand,
Summary of Ecological Rankings for New Zealand Commercial Fisheries, 2005.
www.forestandbird.org.nz;. Fishsource, http://www.fishsource.org/site/fisheries.
151 Ibid.
129 WWF (World Wildlife Fund). 2007. Benchmarking study on international
aquaculture certification programmes: Environmental impacts, social issues
and animal welfare. World Wildlife Fund, Zurich, Switzerland, and Oslo, Norway.
96 pp.
130 Canadian Grocer. Toronto: Mar 2006. Vol. 120, N° 2; pg. 20.
131 Ibid.
132 Allentuck, Andrew. 2006. The eve of battle. Canadian Grocer Vol. 120, No. 8,
p. 38. The Canadian grocery industry: The shadow of the giant comes to life.
BMO.
133 See, for example, www.walmartwatch.com.
134 Allentuck, Andrew. 2006. The eve of battle. Canadian Grocer Vol. 120, No. 8,
p. 38. The Canadian grocery industry: The shadow of the giant comes to life.
BMO.
135 Kwon, Nancy. 2007. Your three-year plan. Canadian Grocer Vol. 121, N° 7,
p. 32. Toronto.
136 Greenpeace UK. 2007. A recipe for change: Supermarkets respond
to the challenge of sourcing sustainable seafood.
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/reports/a-recipe-for-change.
137 Ibid.
138 Greenpeace’s sustainable seafood campaign: Achievements with European
supermarkets by January 2008 (internal document).
152 Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Progress to Date 2007–2008.
153 Ibid and letter from Peter Raymond, Vice President and General Merchandise
Manager, Deli and Seafood, to Greenpeace US, dated January 30, 2008
154 Ibid.
155 Ibid.
156 Personal communication, John Lawrence, Director, Corporate Social
Responsibility, Wal-Mart Canada, May 8, 2008.
157 Globe and Mail. 2006. Report on Business. Corporate responsibility report,
2006.
158 KLD Research and Analytics. 2007. KLD profile—Cost (Costco Wholesale
Corporation).
159 Drew Cherry, Intrafish Media, April 3, 2008, Tough salmon specs provide peace
of mind for Costco.
160 Smarten up Safeway,
http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/safeway/takeaction.html, and personal
communication, Shauna McKinnon, Living Oceans Society.
161 Barrionuevo, Alexi. 2008., Salmon Virus Indicts Chile’s Fishing Methods.
The New York Times. March 27, 2008. Safeway to back off Chilean salmon,
Drew Cherry, Intrafish Media, April 2, 2008.
http://www.intrafish.no/global/news/article167862.ece.
162 IntraFish Media. 2008. NGO: Safeway should end all farmed salmon purchases.
April 4.
http://www.intrafish.no/global/news/article168255.ece.
163 Personal communication, Rick Thompson, Senior Manager Product Integrity,
Overwaitea Food Group, April 26 and May 9, 2008.
164 GoldSeal.
http://goldseal.ca/.
55
SUPERMARKETS AND THE FUTURE OF SEAFOOD
Glossary
ACC: Aquaculture Certification
Council
Aquaculture: Cultivation
or farming of any aquatic
species—marine or freshwater,
plant or animal.
Benthic: Living on, in or near
the bottom of a water body.
Bycatch: Species
unintentionally caught by
fisheries whose operations
are directed toward the catch
of another species.
COSEWIC: The Committee
on the Status of Endangered
Wildlife in Canada.
Directed fishery: Fishery
devoted to catching a particular
species.
Endangered: Facing
imminent extirpation or
extinction (COSEWIC definition);
facing a very high risk of
extinction in the wild in the
near future (IUCN definition).
EEZ: Exclusive economic zone
—an area extending out into
the ocean 200 nautical miles
from a country’s coastline,
and subject to the specific
legal regime established under
the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea.
FAD: Fish aggregating device
—manmade floating object
designed and strategically
placed to attract ocean-going
pelagic fish such as tuna and
marlin, and, thus enable fishers
to find the fish more easily.
Fishmeal: Protein-rich meal
derived from processing whole
fish (usually small pelagic fish,
and bycatch), as well as byproducts from fish-processing
plants. Used mainly as feeds
for poultry, pigs and carnivorous
aquatic species.
Gillnet: A net of a certain
mesh size, weighted to the
ocean floor or set adrift, which
entangles and catches fish
by the gills as they try to swim
through the webbing.
Greenwashing: Misleading
of consumers into thinking
that a product or practice
meets standards that favourably
address environmental
concerns.
Groundfish: Fish that feed
on or close to the seafloor.
Hand-line: A selective type of
fishing that uses lines and hooks
from a stationary or moving
boat. Because hauling is slow,
mechanised systems have been
developed to allow more lines
to be worked by a smaller crew.
Extinct: No longer in existence.
IUCN: International Union
Extirpation: The elimination
of a species or subspecies
from a particular area, but
not from its entire range or of
the entire species (extinction).
for Conservation of Nature
(also known as the World
Conservation Union).
NOTE: Explanations of fishing methods can be found in the text box in Chapter 3.
56
IUU: Illegal, unregulated, and
unreported (fishing). Commonly
referred to as pirate fishing.
Jigging: A method of fishing
using lures on a vertical line
moved up and down (jigged)
by hand or mechanically.
NGO: Non-governmental
organization.
Overfished: A stock is
considered overfished when
exploitation causes a population
level to become too low to
ensure reproduction at a rate
sufficient to maintain it.
Pelagic: Spending most of its
life in the mid-water, with little
contact with or dependency
on the seabed.
Quota: A share of the legal
total allowable catch for a given
fishery, as allocated to an
operating unit such as a country,
a vessel, a company or an
individual fisher (individual
quota), depending on the
system of allocation. Quotas
may or may not be transferable,
inheritable or tradable.
SARA: Species at Risk Act.
SARA is a federal Act of Canada
whose aims are to prevent
wildlife species from being
extirpated or becoming extinct,
to provide for the recovery
of extirpated, endangered
and threatened species, and
to manage species of special
concern to prevent them
from becoming endangered
or threatened.
Special concern:
Classification for wildlife species
that may become threatened
or endangered because of
a combination of biological
characteristics and identified
threats (COSEWIC definition).
Stock: A population from which
catches are taken by a fishery;
usually defined in terms of a
particular population which is
relatively isolated from other
populations of the same species
and hence self-sustaining.
Stock status: Assessment
of the situation of a stock.
The FAO expresses this as:
protected, under-exploited,
intensively exploited, fully
exploited, over-exploited,
depleted, extinct or
commercially extinct.
Sustainable: Able to be
maintained into the future
without long-term ill effects
on population or environment.
Threatened: Likelihood
of becoming endangered
if limiting factors are not
reversed (COSEWIC definition).
Trophic level: The position
of a species in the food chain,
determined by the number
of energy-transfer steps
to that level.
Vulnerable: Facing a high
risk of extinction in the wild
in the medium-term future
(IUCN definition).
WWF: World Wide Fund for
Nature (World Wildlife Fund).
Time and fish are running out.
Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organization
which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global
environmental problems and to focus attention on solutions
essential to a green and peaceful future.
Founded in Canada in 1971, Greenpeace is now the world’s largest
membership-based environmental organization, with offices operating
in 40 countries and more than 2.8 million members worldwide.
Greenpeace Canada
250 Dundas Street West, Suite 605, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2Z5
454 Laurier Avenue East, 3rd Floor, Montréal, Québec, H2J 1E7
1726 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5N 4A3
6238 –104 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T6H 2K9
1 800 320-7183
www.greenpeace.ca