NZ seafood retailers lacking sustainable standards

NZ seafood retailers lacking sustainability standards

Auckland, 29 October 2010 - New Zealand seafood retailers have fallen well behind the world’s major markets when it comes to setting seafood sustainability standards, a Greenpeace report reveals.

Released today, the report, Oceans Advocates (1), reveals that internationally, consumer pressure is driving retailers to adopt responsible seafood sourcing practices. In recent years this has brought about encouraging changes in the seafood industry.

“While many North American and European retailers have announced seafood policies, based on sustainability criteria, we’ve seen no such move from New Zealand supermarkets. Destruction is still on sale at your local seafood counter,” says Greenpeace New Zealand Oceans Campaigner Karli Thomas.

“If New Zealand wants to maintain its clean, green reputation then our retailers and the seafood industry in general need to meet, or surpass, the standards set by our major export markets."

Last month the last of Canada’s eight major supermarket chains, Metro, confirmed it will stop selling orange roughy based on sustainability concerns. It is also removing New Zealand hoki. Both species are caught by destructive bottom trawling. The report details 16 other major retailers which have withdrawn orange roughy.

It also calls on policy makers to act to help the seafood industry to secure its own future while protecting the future of the world’s oceans.

“The sustainable seafood movement is not going away. Now it is crucial that political action is taken to ensure that those companies dragging their heels and continuing to trade in destructively caught fish are made to clean up their act before irreparable damage is done to our oceans and fisheries. It's time to establish a level playing field based on best practices for the entire industry,” says Thomas.

Last week at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, the United Nations Environment Programme released a report (3) detailing how biodiversity, including ocean life contributes to global bottom lines and environmental protection is vital to economic prosperity. Greenpeace is demanding that the CBD produce a plan to save life on earth and delivered a concrete roadmap for governments to chart a course to oceans protection, the Oceans Emergency Rescue Plan (4), in advance of the summit in Japan.

Notes to editor:

(1) The “Oceans Advocates: seafood markets driving change towards sustainable oceans management” is available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/en/reports/Oceans-Advocates/

(2) Metro’s policy was announced on 23 September and will be fully implemented by June 2011. The company will remove seven species from sale across its 600 stores, as well as improving seafood labeling. http://www.metro.ca/corpo/centre-nouvelles/communiques2010/20100923.en.html

(3) The report, “Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature,” is part of a series of reports, called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity produced by UNEP: www.teebweb.org

(4) More details about the Emergency Oceans Rescue Plan can be found at www.greenpeace.org/international/oceansrescueplan

ENDS

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