Greenpeace's Supermarket Seafood Scorecard Plus Good News from Target

Where do you buy your seafood? According to a Greenpeace report, consumers buy half their seafood at supermarkets. The organization has ranked 20 major grocery stores based on the sustainability of their seafood sourcing and selling, and commends retailers like Wegmans, Ahold, Whole Foods, and Target for increasing their "green" seafood practices. Target, which is currently number four on the list, continues to march forward and just yesterday announced that it will stop selling farm-raised salmon.

Last updated in June 2009, the Greenpeace scorecard considers factors such a company's sustainable seafood policy, sustainability initiatives, labeling and transparency, and sales of "red list" seafood, which have a high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries. It also indicates whether stores have improved between June 2008, December 2008, and June 2009.

In its accompanying report, Greenpeace commended Target for "making significant strides toward improving its seafood sustainability as part of its overall mission to be a good corporate steward of the environment." This mission seemed evident in Target's announcement Tuesday that it has eliminated all farmed salmon from its fresh, frozen, and smoked seafood offerings. Target brands Archer Farms and Market Pantry will only include wild-caught Alaskan salmon, which is considered a "Best Choice" by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and certified as sustainable to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council.

What do you think? Do these or any other factors affect your seafood shopping?

• Get the Greenpeace scorecard and report: Carting Away the Oceans

• Read the Target announcement: Target Eliminates Farmed Salmon From All Target Stores

(Image: Greenpeace)

Comments (12)

Yay Target! Everyone I've talked to at home (Alaska) about this switch is excited. This one change will make a huge difference for Alaskas economy.

I love seafood and I live in the deep midwest. If I become a full fledged locavore I'll only be able to eat seafood on vacation. :( Even Trader Joe's is off limits!

I use the Environmental Defense Fund's chart to keep myself educated.

I've also found that if I take note of the fish selections at environmentally conscious restaurants, they always end up being well sustained choices, so I can use their selections as a good guide.

I have the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch app on my phone. It is actually suprizingly helpful, especially when ordering sushi. I love target anyways, and knowing I can get decent salmon there boosts the happiness level.

Go Wegmans!

Sadly, not as wide-spread as I wish they were, as there's none to be found anywhere near here.

I was a little disappointed in this list. The dominant grocery chains in my region either weren't evaluated or were only mentioned under the names they use in other areas of the country (around here, Safeway is Dominick's.) Would love to know where Jewel-Osco stands.

Oh I miss Wegmans!

Also, what kind of fresh fish does Target have? I guess just canned/ frozen?

greenpeace has a big education campaign for trader joes to start selling sustainable seafood too. check it out - it's called "traitor joes"

@msbetsy, I'm in the Midwest too (Chicago). If you want to know the status of the seafood that is sold at Jewel and Dominick's you can look up The Monterey Bay Seafood Watch guide as @dearly mentioned or, Chicago's Shedd Aquarium also has a guide. Every piece of seafood at any grocery store will be on these lists which will tell you they are ok to buy or not (there are a few different "levels" of recommendation). If you are not sure of the exact source say of the salmon that is sold in the fish case, ask someone behind the counter--it is very easy for them to find the information for you. It could be as easy as looking on the side of a box or checking a log. Here's an easy tip--if the word "Wild" is included in the description, that means the seafood cannot have come from a farm. Unless something says "wild farmed" but that is not too common. Chances are, the word "wild" will be difficult to find at these stores. King crab is always wild, and it is easy to find frozen wild salmon. Halibut is wild and it's season should be coming up in a couple of months. If you see halibut now, chances are, the description will say something like "wild caught & previously frozen". Hope that helps, those guides will definitely explain a lot--they are "universal" in the sense that it doesn't matter what store you go to--it's all about the "product" that the store carries.

Percent- A large number of Target stores are being remodeled to fit more of the Fred Meyer/Meijer/Wal Mart (bleh) model- where they have a more substantial grocery section. Ours here in Seattle just went through it and it's actually pretty impressive what they carry now.

Well done, Target!
Frequently, it is time consuming and difficult to make responsible food choices. Having a company like Target provide sustainable options makes it much easier for the consumer to do their part.

Oh Wegmans.... today I shopped in the best Houston has to offer. It's nice - good bread, interesting cheese - but dude, it's no Wegmans. Miss my Ithaca home often; One of the biggest reasons? Wegmans with a capital W.