FishWise Celebrates Safeway's 2015 Seafood Sustainability Milestone
This month, FishWise is celebrating a major milestone with our retailer partner, Safeway. In 2010, Safeway and FishWise set an ambitious goal for all of the company’s fresh and private label frozen seafood to be environmentally responsible by the end of 2015. By year-end, 77% of Safeway’s seafood by volume met the company’s 2015 commitment, including 99% of its private label frozen seafood. Over the course of our partnership, we have transitioned over 29 million pounds of unsustainable seafood to environmentally responsible sources. The 2015 sourcing commitment was only a piece of a larger Responsible Seafood Program that included support for fisheries improvements, marine protected areas, human rights engagement, and advocacy for traceability and illegal fishing reforms. Check out some of our major achievements in the infographic below!
In addition to our environmental conservation efforts, FishWise and Safeway are also dedicated to reducing the risk of human rights abuses in seafood supply chains. While complex challenges remain, FishWise and Safeway are actively engaging with other NGOs, industry stakeholders, and government representatives to improve social conditions in seafood supply chains. In 2015, Safeway introduced the world’s first Fair Trade certified seafood product, a great step forward for socially responsible seafood.
Following Safeway’s merger with Albertsons in 2015, FishWise extended the partnership with Albertsons Companies across all banners, effectively doubling the size of the program to incorporate more than 2,200 retail locations. The renewed and expanded Responsible Seafood Program will strengthen existing efforts in environmentally and socially responsible sourcing and will broaden engagement on human rights, traceability, and marketing. FishWise applauds Safeway’s efforts to date and is proud to continue our work with the Albertsons Companies to improve the safety of seafood industry workers and the health of our oceans.
