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Greenpeace Seafood Report For 2013 Scores Supermarkets On Sustainability [UPDATED]

The Best & Worst Supermarkets For Sustainable Seafood
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Editor, HuffPost Food

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Greenpeace has released its annual "Carting Away The Oceans" report, which scores supermarkets on their commitment to sustainable seafood. In an era in which there is constant discussion about the poor state of our oceans, Greenpeace's report [pdf] actually has some good news. The introduction reads:

"...[W]e truly do have more good news than bad news to report. There is still a great deal of work to be done, but let’s take a minute to raise a glass in acknowledgement of some of the truly remarkable stories of this past year."

According to the report, some of the positive steps taken in the past year include Trader Joe's decision to be more stringent about the kind of seafood it sells and Walmart getting serious about only selling responsibly caught canned tuna.

To come up with its scorecard, Greenpeace ranked 20 grocery chains (18 actively participated in the survey -- Publix and BI-LO did not) on four criteria: policy, initiatives, transparency and red list inventory. Each category is given a score, and then the chain is ranked overall.

This is the seventh year that Greenpeace has produced a report. Due to its rigorous seafood policy, Whole Foods was given the top ranking this year -- the first time since 2008. The report also commended the level of transparency at Wegmans and Harris Teeter, among others. Here's a look at the full results:

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In an email to The Huffington Post, a representative from the The National Fisheries Institute, an industry trade group, disputed the report, calling it an "unscientific and arbitrary ranking" and a "PR maneuver to hustle for donations from wealthy foundations."

While sustainable seafood seems like a pretty obvious issue to support, it's easier said then done. An NPR investigation from earlier this year found that determining which species are sustainable and which are not is a rather murky process. So while the Greenpeace report is certainly one tool for understanding this complicated issue, it is far from the only measure.

More chains than ever participated in Greenpeace's survey this year. So while the measurement tools for evaulating seafood sustainability might still not be perfect, both consumers and retailers clearly are starting to care more about this issue.

Read the full report [pdf] here.

This piece has been updated to include comments from the National Fisheries Institute.

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Before You Go

Most Consumed Seafood
10. Clams(01 of10)
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Clams take the number 10 spot on the list of seafood most consumed by Americans, with 0.341 pounds per capita. According to Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, most varieties of clams are considered "best choices" in terms of sustainability. (credit:Flickr: whologwhy)
9. Pangasius(02 of10)
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Pangasius, perhaps more commonly known as tra, swai and basa, is consumed at 0.405 pounds per capita, a 14 percent jump from 2009. Pangasius is a flaky, tender white fish that is typically both imported and farmed (see this fascinating article from The New York Times). It is also referred to as iridescent catfish.

Seafood Watch score: Good Alternative. (credit:Wikimedia Commons)
8. Cod(03 of10)
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Every year, 0.463 pounds of cod is consumed per capita. Cod is a complicated species; a whole book has been dedicated to how the fish changed the world. The many varieties of cod range from "best choice" recommendations (hook-and-line-caught Atlantic cod) to species better to avoid (wild-caught imported Pacific cod). (credit:Wikimedia Commons)
7. Crab(04 of10)
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As participants in crab feasts are well aware, there isn't a lot of meat in an individual crab. Perhaps that's why the shellfish hasn't broken the Top 5, with 0.573 pounds per capita eaten per year.

Like cod, there are some crabs deemed more sustainable than others. Best to avoid imported King crab, while Dungeness crab seems to be a safer bet. (credit:Flickr: Roberto Verzo)
6. Catfish(05 of10)
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We eat 0.8 pounds per capita of this bottom-dwelling, bizarre-looking fish. Seafood Watch calls catfish a "best choice." It's also the topic of the TV show "Hillbilly Handfishin'." (credit:Flickr: cliff1066™)
5. Alaska Pollack(06 of10)
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The Top 5 seafood all break the one-pound-per-capita consumption mark. Alaska pollack is consumed at a rate of 1.192 pounds per capita. Pollack is widely used in the fast food industry: Think McDonald's Filet-O-Fish.

Seafood Watch score: Good Alternative. (credit:Wikimedia Commons)
4. Tilapia(07 of10)
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In recent years, tilapia seems to have become many cooks' go-to white fish, thanks to its relatively cheap price and the ease of farming it. Americans ate a staggering 20 percent more tilapia in 2010 than they did in 2009.

Seafood Watch score: Farmed tilapia from the U.S. and Latin America tend to be OK, but best to avoid that fish coming from Asia. (credit:Flickr: clayirving)
3. Salmon(08 of10)
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Nearly 2 pounds of salmon (1.999 to be exact) are eaten per person per year. That explains why there are so many concerns about overfishing and depletion of stocks. The Monterey Bay Aquarium suggests avoiding farmed salmon. (credit:Flickr: The Boreka Diary)
2. Canned Tuna(09 of10)
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Americans eat 2.7 pounds per person per year of canned tuna. Many tuna species are best to avoid, according to Seafood Watch, but albacore canned tuna remains a good alternative.
1. Shrimp(10 of10)
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Bubba in "Forrest Gump" had it right ("shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad ..."). There are a lot of ways to eat shrimp. That's why the average American consumes 4 pounds of it every year. Like other diverse seafood species, shrimp can be either a good or bad choice for your dinner table. Safer bets are spot prawns and rock shrimp. (credit:Flickr: Muffet)
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