Grocers Eye Sustainable Fish

Tag : Frozen Tilapia

Aquaculture is becoming the next big issue at the dinner table.Supermarkets are introducing new standards for the farmed fish andshrimp that make up roughly half of U.S. seafood consumption,riding a wave of consumer demand for environmentally friendlyproducts.
Whole Foods plans to announce today the first comprehensive set of aquacultureguidelines by a major retailer. Wal-Mart has established standards for farmed shrimp and certified itsfactories with the Aquaculture Certification Council. And Wegmansworked with Environmental Defense Fund on its farmed-shrimp policyto ban antibiotics, avoid damaging sensitive habitats, treat wastewater and reduce the use of wild fish to feed shrimp.
"There are actually a lot of farmers right now who are tryingto do the right thing," said Jill Schwartz, a spokeswoman forthe World Wildlife Fund , which has advised Whole Foods on its standards. "Things aremoving in the right direction."
Demand for seafood has grown as U.S. consumers increasingly acceptit as an alternative to red meat and poultry. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish twice a week for the omega-3 fatty acids,which are good for the heart. Americans on average ate 16.5 poundsof seafood in 2006, up from 15.6 pounds in 2000, according to theNational Marine Fisheries Service.
Supermarkets increasingly rely on the $70 billion worldwideaquaculture industry to help meet that demand as the supply ofwild-caught fish remains limited. Although the nonprofit MarineStewardship Council provides certification for suppliers ofwild-caught seafood -- the labels are used in stores from WholeFoods to Wal-Mart -- there is no widely accepted standard forsustainable farming practices.
Several groups are establishing aquaculture guidelines. The WorldWildlife Fund launched its "aquaculture dialogues"several years ago and plans to announce standards for tilapia bythe end of the year, followed by catfish, several mollusks, shrimpand salmon next year. The Global Aquaculture Alliance hasestablished standards for shrimp and some catfish and is expectedto unveil a plan for tilapia soon. And in Europe, the GlobalPartnership for Good Agriculture Practice certifies salmon andtrout and is working on shrimp and tilapia, among others.
But Whole Foods said it decided to develop its own comprehensiveplan two years ago, and it began consulting with environmentalgroups and scientists and visiting its suppliers' farms. Thecompany said it may modify its guidelines as consensus is reachedamong advocacy organizations.
"Right now, we need a way to source our seafood in a way thatmeets our customers' expectations," said Carrie Brownstein,seafood quality standards coordinator at Whole Foods. "Wedon't want to be waiting on the sidelines. We want to be veryactive in the process."
The new policies would apply to all frozen, fresh, canned andsmoked seafood, except mollusks. They include prohibitions onpreservatives, antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals that canbe harmful to humans but are typically used to stave off sicknessand encourage growth in fish. Whole Foods plans to ban farms inwetlands and mangroves, and limit how much wild fish can be used tofeed farmed fish.
"They're definitely putting out the most comprehensiveaquaculture standards for a retailer," said Teresa Ish,seafood project manager at the Environmental Defense Fund, whoworked with Whole Foods. "It really makes a statement tosuppliers around the world that this is something that buyers wantand that customers want."
Last month, Greenpeace ranked major grocers according to whether they had asustainability policy for seafood, the types of fish sold, trainingand labeling. The rankings covered both farmed and wild seafood.Whole Foods came in first, even though its score was just 4 out of10. John Hocevar, Greenpeace oceans campaign director, said thereport was released before Whole Foods' new standards werefinalized, and he expects the company's score to increase. Giantparent company Royal Ahold ranked second, followed by Harris Teeter , Wegmans and Wal-Mart.
"Many of the companies that we assessed, and the industry ingeneral, seem to have realized that there is a problem and tovarying degrees are starting to work on it," Hocevar said.
Johan Andreassen's salmon farm in Norway piqued Whole Foods'interest in late 2005. Founded with the help of Andreassen'scousin, Villa Organic relies on cleaner fish -- which eat parasitesand dead skin on other fish -- rather than chemicals to keep thesalmon free of lice. Whole Foods was the company's first U.S.contract and now is its largest buyer.
"We think that retailer is able to think long-term and able towork long-term in order to get a better product, and that's how wewant to work," Andreassen said.
He has searched hard -- and paid more -- for fishmeal with lowlevels of PCBs and other chemicals which have been linked tocancer. Among other measures, he is seeking a new farm site in theBarents Sea.
Andreassen said his costs have increased, and he expects the priceof fish at Whole Foods to rise as well. But he said he hopes havingan ample supply of healthy fish will at least help keep the pricestable. "Whole Foods is a customer that asks for somethingspecial and that makes it possible for people in the industry, theproducers, to do something different," he said. "WholeFoods will, with the new standards, make the industry move into abetter direction."