Greenpeace’s fish tales

Supermarket no-nos

By Culinate staff

June 19, 2008

Kim O’Donnel, over at the Washington Post blog, found murky waters when she went swimming in the Greenpeace report released the other day, which rates major American supermarkets on their practices and policies regarding seafood sales.

Entitled “Carting Away the Oceans: How Grocery Stores are Emptying the Seas,” the report draws some bleak conclusions about seafood in supermarkets. Whole Foods, the highest-rated company, received an overall rating of four, out of a possible 10.

Amid the bad news, O’Donnel went looking for suggestions from Greenpeace on what good seafood choices might be. She didn’t have much luck, receiving this reply from GP senior investigator Mark Floegel: “We’re not recommending any species of fish to consumers. We think it’s more important to create awareness of the negative environmental consequences of overfished species and aquaculture practices. Also, we don’t want to put a ‘seal of approval’ on any particular species, because there are really none out there that can stand more fishing pressure.”

At least one O’Donnel reader — commenter Gavin, who lists an affiliation with the National Fisheries Institute — finds the Greenpeace report “distorted and divisive,” as well as confusing (and he states so again on Chews Wise). To add to the murkiness, the National Fisheries Institute isn’t a government organization, as might be inferred from its name; it’s the trade association promoting the seafood industry.