Tutoring Trader Joe’s on Seafood Sustainability

Trader Joe’s has finally jumped on the sustainable seafood bandwagon.  A handful of sellers are already on board, including Wegmans, Whole Foods and Target, according to a Greenpeace report card.  Credit for Trader Joe’s turnaround, however, shouldn’t be attributed to “peer pressure.”  Greenpeace led a successful nine-month campaign that highlighted “Traitor Joe’s” previous disregard for responsible seafood purchasing policies. What that actually means however, remains to be seen.

Trader Joe’s has joined Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Target on the sustainable seafood bandwagon, but there are several factors to consider when determining seafood sustainability. Photo by Rob Owen-Wahl.

Part of what the grocery chain now promises is to offer only sustainable seafood in its stores by the end of 2012.   As of April, this gives TJ’s two years and eight months to decide, with the help of a science-based third party, how they will define “sustainable” seafood.  For now, they have removed some of the worst offenders from their shelves, including Chilean sea bass, orange roughy and, most recently, red snapper.    If this is all they have done, they still have a ways to go, though – the last time I checked at a few of their stores, they still had some farmed salmon products in stock.

There are several factors to consider when determining seafood sustainability.  If the fish population in question is being overfished, or if the fishing operation is not well managed, it is not a good choice.  Consult our Smart Seafood Guide for more information.

Other unsustainable practices include factory fish farms that cause ecological damage to the ocean floor and significant pollution from fish excrement and feed.   These types of fish farms are also cause for concern for human health because of the potential for excessive use of antibiotics and other chemicals used to regulate disease in crowded fish pens.  (Sounds bad, right? Check out our fact sheet on Factory Fish Farms.)

If Trader Joe’s hopes to get a better grade this semester on their seafood report card, they’ll have to do their homework and say NO to factory fish farming.  It’s up to them, but we’ll all be watching.

-Harley Stokes, Food & Water Watch