A global study entitled History of Marine Animal Populations, presented in May at the Oceans Past conference in Vancouver, has intensified concern about the looming crisis, says cbc.ca. Marine researchers combing through historical records covering the past 2,000 years have determined there are 85 to 90 per cent fewer fish and marine mammals today than there once were.
According to the cbc.ca report, Greenpeace mounted a coast-to-coast campaign this summer to persuade Canada's major supermarket chains to stop selling seafood on its "Red list," which lists species most threatened by overharvesting.
Greenpeace’s pressure campaign is seeing some results. Loblaws has announced its policy will be to only sell sustainably produced fish after 2013; Oberwaitea and Metro are taking steps to put similar policies in place after meeting with Greenpeace representatives.
However, Costco and several others don’t have policies yet. For their part, industry players say sustainability is easier said than done when it comes to fish.
Sustainable Campaign Sees Results in Canada
CANADA - Environmental groups that have been sounding urgent alarms about dramatic declines in fish and seafood stocks are taking Canadian supermarkets to task for the role they play in the emptying of the oceans.
