Greenpeace sees Target swimming in right direction

Greenpeace has released its latest "Carting Away the Ocean" report, and Target should be pleased with where it ranked on the list. With a score of 6.4, Target placed fifth and earned an orange, or "passing," rating. While that may not seem so great, it is important to keep in mind that only two retailers, Safeway and Whole Foods received green, or "good" ratings for their scores of 7 and 7.1, respectively -- the first time any retailer has recieved such distinction.



Greenpeace commended Target for the strides it has made. The report cited Target's pledge to only sell sustainable seafood by 2015 and its partnerships with FishWise, a non-profit ocean conservation consultancy and for being a member of the Food Marketing Institute's Sustainability Task force and its subsidiary, Seafood working group as examples of the company's progress. However, Greenpeace noted that it wished Target would make a greater effort to reduce the sale of such unstainable products as canned tuna. The retailer was also criticized for selling eight of Greenpeace's "red list" species including Alaska pollock, Atlantic sea scallops,bigeye tuna, ocean quahog, South Atlantic albaore tuna, swordfish, tropical shrimp and yellowfin tuna.



Overall, Greenpeace said the U.S. seafood retail industry has improved since 2008 when it first introduced its report. Still, with populations of the ocean’s apex predators (sharks, tuna, swordfish and similar animals) falling by 90% in recent years and unsustainable fishing practices still being used across the globe, much remains to be done.



Click here to read the full report.