News
Still too much unsustainable seafood in Dutch supermarkets
15 April 2008
Netherlands — At present none of the Dutch supermarkets obtain all their seafood from sustainable sources. This is the conclusion from the supermarket league table published today by Greenpeace.
Ten out of the eighteen supermarkets have not made enough effort to source seafood sustainably. Aldi and Troefmarkt have the worst scores; they do not have a policy for purchasing responsibly and in their stores much of the seafood is from unsustainable sources. At the top end of the list, Albert Heijn is no longer at the number one position. Em-te, Golff, Deen and Jumbo have a stronger policy, clearly stating criteria for the seafood sold in their stores.
Since the release of the first ranking in September 2007, more supermarkets are trying to implement a sustainable sourcing policy for fish. “They are finally taking action. However, the majority of the supermarkets still hardly know where their seafood is coming from. The oceans are becoming empty and too much unsustainable seafood is being sold in the stores,” according to Femke Nagel, head oceans campaigner at Greenpeace Netherlands.
Scientists are warning of the rapid disappearance of fish from the oceans. Since the beginning of 2007 Greenpeace has urged supermarkets to halt the plundering of our seas. Dutch people are eating an increasing amount of fish and therefore it is crucial that supermarkets only offer seafood sourced from healthy stocks and fished or farmed using sustainable methods. The good news is that several supermarkets have stopped selling species like redfish, Atlantic sea wolf and swordfish, which at present do not meet these criteria.
The branch organisation CBL recognizes the crisis in the oceans and has developed a plan to help. Their intentions are good, but give no guarantees for a sustainable seafood supply in supermarkets. Also, the CBL can only advise, its recommendations are not binding. It comes down to the supermarkets themselves to draw the line on which fish they will no longer source and which fishing and aquaculture methods they will no longer accept.
Greenpeace urges supermarkets to implement a sustainable seafood policy. In this policy there can be no place for over-fished species or seafood species fished or farmed using environmentally destructive methods. Threatened species like North Sea cod, marlin, halibut and eel do not belong in the supermarket.
