Greening Austin Daily

Whole Foods Phasing Out Over-fished or Unsustainably-caught Seafood

13th September, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

ABJ has this article today, which says that Whole Foods is “phasing out seafood considered over-fished or unsustainably-caught” and that:

The move is part of the Austin-based natural grocer’s efforts to better inform customers about fish and shellfish sources…. [T]he company has adopted an in-store, color-coded sustainability rating system for wild-caught seafood. Whole Foods has also committed to phasing out all red-rated species by Earth Day 2013, including swordfish, Atlantic cod, sole and tuna, among others.

Seafood color-coded green, or “best choice,” indicates the fish is part of an abundant population and is fished in an environmentally-friendly way. A yellow-coded offering means a “good alternative,” or having some concerns about population or fishing methods. The red, “avoid” category signals the species is suffering from overfishing, or that current fishing methods harm other marine life or habitats.