Claims by New Zealand supermarkets that they are doing enough to ensure that the seafood they sell is from sustainably managed fisheries just don’t stack up, says Greenpeace.
Greenpeace New Zealand recently released a report, ‘While Stocks Last – Supermarkets And The Future Of Seafood’, which shows that New Zealand supermarkets are selling species that are in serious trouble and being unsustainably fished. The report warns that unless New Zealand’s fisheries are put on a sustainable footing now, fishing industry jobs and the country’s international reputation and way of life are being put at risk.
Greenpeace wants New Zealand supermarkets to follow the example of growing numbers of supermarket chains in Europe and the United States, which are implementing sustainable seafood policies in response to customer demand. Some are refusing to stock New Zealand caught species that are not fished sustainably, such as orange roughy.
Greenpeace New Zealand oceans campaigner Karli Thomas said that New Zealand supermarkets are offering weak excuses for not taking the same action. Progressive Enterprises, which owns Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown, was quoted as saying that it has ‘limited visibility across the supply chain, making it difficult to guarantee that everyone in the supply chain is doing the right thing.’
Greenpeace has presented New Zealand supermarkets with clear information on the poor situation some of the country’s fisheries are in.
“It’s not a matter of lack of visibility – it’s a matter of not taking responsibility. Progressive Enterprises has the information, they are just not acting upon it,” said Ms Thomas. “The claim by Foodstuff’s managing director Tony Carter - that there’s no need for a special policy because all fish caught in New Zealand are sustainably managed - is ridiculous.”
“There is ample evidence that the quota management system is not protecting New Zealand’s fisheries,” she added. “Orange roughy, for example, has been in the system for 20 years – almost the entire life of the commercial orange roughy fishery – and yet three of the eight stocks have collapsed and in some areas stocks were fished down to as low as 3% of their original levels.”
Ms Thomas said that other statements by the two supermarket chains suggest that they realise they will have to take the issue more seriously. The Press newspaper quoted Foodstuffs executive Melissa Hodd as saying the chain is considering the Greenpeace proposal, and Progressive Enterprises communications manager Bill Moore as saying the company is working with Australasian suppliers on the issue.
