Sustainable Seafood Overview

SUSTA AINABLE SEAFOO OD CAM MPAIGN Overfishing and destruc ctive fishing are a among the e most signific cant threats fa acing our oce eans. The UN reports tha at three-quartters of global fish stocks are e either fully exploited e or ov verexploited. Scientists estim mate that 90% of o top marine predators suc ch as tuna an nd sharks are already a gone e. Pirate fishing g, estimated to account for f up to a thirrd of the glob bal catch, is no otorious for ta argeting at-risk k populations and using hig ghly destructive methods. Destructive D fish hing indiscriminately kills “no on-target” spe ecies, includin ng marine mammalss and seabirdss, and destroy ys habitats tha at marine species depend on for surviva al. In addition to t the direct and d cascading effects e on ma arine ecosyste ems, overfishin ng and destruc ctive fishing make m our ocean ecosystem ms more vulne erable to glob bal warming.

If curren nt trends continue, scie entists predict global fiisheries willl collapse in n forty yearrs. U.S. consu umers buy half their seafood d at superma arkets, to the tune of $16 billion every yea ar. As consum mer interest in sustainable products p has grown, g so hav ve retailer effo orts to promote their eco-friendly initiatives. Yet, few su upermarkets have h made siignificant effo orts to improve e their seafoo od sustainabilitty. Greenpeace is calling on supermarkets to sell only sustainable seafood and to o support posittive reforms in n fisheries managem ment. By doing g so, superma arkets will do their part to he elp avert the crisis facing our o oceans wh hile ensuring their customerrs quality fish from f sustainab ble fisheries fo or years to com me.

Superma arkets have e enormouss purchasing power, and a are well positioned d to influenc ce the way y the fishing industry op perates. What You Can Do! Gre eenpeace nee eds your help p monitoring su upermarket se eafood policies and practices. mation you ga ather will be ussed to update e our superma arket scoreca ard. These periiodic reviews The inform assess and d rank 20 top supermarketss on their seafood purchasiing policies, su upport for susttainable seafo ood initiatives, labeling & tra ansparency, and a sales of re ed list seafood ds. To see passt scorecards, go to www.gree enpeace.org//seafood. In this toollkit, you will fin nd a survey an nd questionna aire to use at your local sup permarket. Usse the survey to t determine e which red-lisst seafoods th he supermarke et sells, and th he questionna aire to inquire about the supermark ket’s seafood purchasing policies p and la abeling practiices.

Log L your results at www.gre eenpeace.org g/usa/seafoodsurvey, or fax the em to 202-462 2-4507. If you have any que estions, feel frree to email us u at [email protected] peace.org.