Joining the ranks of retailers supporting sustainable seafood, Target Corp. announced its commitment to selling only sustainable and traceable seafood in its stores by 2015.
This initiative will be achieved through a partnership with FishWise, a nonprofit organization that works with seafood companies to implement environmentally responsible business practices, and its industry and vendor partners.
“When Target eliminated farmed salmon in favor of wild-caught salmon last year, we took the first step in a long-term commitment to improving the sustainability of our seafood assortment,” said Shawn Gensch, vice president, marketing, who oversees the company’s sustainability programs. “As we continue toward 100 percent sustainable seafood, guests can shop with confidence knowing that Target’s seafood products are both healthy for their family and environmentally responsible.”
According to an Oct .13 company statement, this will apply to all of Target’s fresh and frozen seafood products. Target defines sustainable and traceable seafood as the sourcing of seafood products that are caught or raised in an environmentally sensitive manner and maintain Target’s business needs without jeopardizing the affected ecosystems.
During the past two years, Target has been transitioning to more sustainable products and as a result, eliminated Chilean sea bass, orange roughy and farmed salmon from its 1,767 stores.
“Target has shown itself to be a leader in sustainable seafood,” said Tobias Aguirre, executive director at FishWise. “This new and deeper 2015 commitment should both serve as an example for the rest of the industry and result in real change on the water.”
Over the next few years, Target plans to:
- identify and provide the most responsible seafood options;
- encourage source fisheries and farms to enter into improvement projects that result in credible certification;
- transition its Market Pantry and Archer Farms brands to more sustainable seafood;
- educate guests about seafood sustainability and encourage them to make informed seafood purchases;
- source seafood products from third-party certified fisheries and farms; and,
- engage with the appropriate government agencies, organizations, industry groups and certification bodies to trace seafood from the supply chain to its source.
