The WWF has announced a new collaboration with one of America’s largest food retailers towards sustainably sourcing the retailer’s wild-caught seafood.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) noted in a press release that fishing is the principal livelihood for over 200 million people around the world and the primary source of protein for about 950 million people. Yet since the 1950s, it is estimated that over 75 percent of the marine fish stocks are now either fully exploited or overfished.
The collaboration with Supervalu will include help to assess the sources of the corporation’s top 20 wild-caught seafood species and a strategy for sourcing that will drive its purchases of seafood.
Following the completion of the assessments and strategy, WWF and Supervalu intend to engage the company’s source fisheries on improving environmental practices, the press statement said.
“Major food retailers like Supervalu have an important role to play in changing the way seafood is harvested or grown, both to reduce its impact on the planet and to ensure the fish we rely on exist for generations to come,” said Bill Fox, vice president of WWF’s fisheries program.
The cooperation will include evaluating Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for any of the fisheries.