Target has announced that all their stores will stop selling farmed salmon products. This move towards greater ocean conservation is a first by a major seafood retailer. Salmon consumption in the United States is a huge market for retailers. Salmon is second only to shrimp in seafood purchases in the United States. This announcement is sure to have a ripple affect across the entire seafood industry and will improve the health of oceans throughout the world.
Target will replace farmed salmon with wild Alaskan salmon, a relatively healthy and sustainable product. This transition affects all sections of the store – frozen, fresh, smoked, and shelf-stable farmed salmon products have all been replaced by more environmentally sound alternatives. Greenpeace applauds Target’s decision to address ocean conservation and provide leadership to other seafood retailers who want to follow in their footsteps.
Next Stop: Trader Joes
Visit Greenpeace’s Trader Joes SUstainable Fisheries Campaign at www.traitorjoe.com
Target discontinues the sale of farmed salmon (Greenpeace)
When Greenpeace applauded Target for taking farmed salmon off store shelves, what Greenpeace didn’t say is that it was paid $300,000 by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
U.S. tax returns and the foundation’s on-line database show that since 2000 the David and Lucile Packard foundation has granted more than $60 million to support the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and promote MSC-certified fish – most of which is Alaskan. This included $12.7 Million to get Wal-mart and other large U.S. retailers to preferentially sell MSC-certified fish and at least $12.4 Million to “reform” fish farming (read: thwart the competition).
Facing stiff competition from farmed salmon, the value of Alaskan wild fish lost 75 percent of its value over the 1990s. Alaskan fishermen not only lost their prime markets, they nearly lost their cherished way of life. Since 2002 and the bad press over farmed salmon, consumers and restaurants have been swayed back to “wild” salmon. The ex-vessel value of Alaskan salmon has tripled from $125 million to $409 million in 2008.
Taking farmed salmon off of store shelves is wrong for three reasons:
1) Salmon farming avoids some of the worst risks to wild salmon: over-fishing, ghost nets, by-catch, and the strain of Alaska’s ocean-ranching of billions of hatchery-born salmon on the food chain and the carrying capacity of the Pacific ecosystem. Unfortunately, its too cold for salmon farming in most of Alaska.
2) Farmed salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, according to a report from the U.S. Institute of Medicine, farmed salmon is higher in omega-3 fatty acids than any other commonly-eaten fish and lower in mercury than almost all other fish. Harvard scientists estimate that eating fish weekly reduces the risk of a fatal heart attack by one third. The American Heart Association estimates that cardiovascular disease kills 2,400 Americans every day and cost $409 BILLION in 2009.
3) Fish farming provides sorely needed jobs in rural communities. In contrast, commercial fishing is seasonal. Canadian tax-payers spend about $30 Million per year on employment insurance for commercial fishermen in British Columbia alone.
So, who benefits from the campaign against farmed salmon?
When it comes to salmon, Alaska believes its got the real thing. The fuss over farmed vs. “wild” salmon is as much about marketing as Pepsi vs. Coke.
Protecting a livelihood and a cultural heritage is a noble pursuit, but thwarting the competition in the name of sustainability is not the way to go about it. In today’s tough times, there are far better ways for American foundations to use wealth and tax-free privileges.
More info: http://fairquestions.typepad.com/fishfarmfuss/2010/01/greenpeace-marketing.html