Environmental Extremists to Take Credit for others Seafood Sustainability work

WASHINGTON, D.C. November 17, 2008 In the next few weeks Greenpeace will unveil yet another set of retailer rankings that grade U.S. grocery stores based on their seafood sustainability efforts. It first released this list in June and gave every single chain a failing grade and in the process failed to capture the attention of consumers or the cooperation of retailers.

Before Greenpeace touts its divisive attempt at corporate blackmail as a success story that is impacting seafood sustainability you should know the real facts about Greenpeace and this campaign:

Fact: Before releasing its seafood sustainability rankings in June Greenpeace demanded that retailers remove nearly 50% of commonly sold seafood from sale or face a poor rating. Not a single chain complied with Greenpeaces demands.

Fact: Greenpeace has and continues to threaten U.S. grocery stores with direct action if they do not comply with its demands. The group is prepared to shift from activism to vandalism if it does not get its way and already has in Canada.

Fact: Greenpeace has already attempted to, and will continue to, take credit for seafood sustainability efforts it played no role in. Despite Greenpeaces claims Ahold USA’s (Giant Food, Stop & Shop etc) seafood sustainability programs are not a result of Greenpeace’s misguided campaign. The senior seafood buyer for Stop & Shop and Giant is quoted in IntraFish magazine as saying, “None of this is in reaction to the Greenpeace retailer rankings. These decisions were made as a result of the advice we received from the New England Aquarium.”

Fact: One-time Greenpeace activists, like Don White who was a leader in the organizations U.S. branch, have abandoned the group after accusing it of capitalizing on claiming the accomplishments of others as their own while creating photo opportunities for fundraising.

Fact: Greenpeace recently crafted a fundraising drive around an erroneous scare-story that overtly misinterpreted government data so it could claim the Alaska pollock fish stock was on the verge of collapse. The campaign asked supporters to please help us prevent the collapse of our fisheries by making a generous gift today, despite the fact that government scientists who conducted the assessment publicly concluded the stock was not on the verge of collapse.

Fact: Greenpeace relies on Journalists who are not skeptical about its claims to report without questioning its motives and or its facts. The groups self-serving distortions are easily unmasked with a few well researched questions.

For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.

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Contact Information

Gavin Gibbons
703.752.8891
ggibbons@nfi.org