We’re Not Seeing Red

Oh buoy! As of Earth Day 2012, we no longer carry red-rated wild-caught fish in our seafood departments! It’s our way of supporting our oceans and helping to reverse overfishing trends.

We give you the whole story on the wild-caught fish we sell. Wild-caught seafood from fisheries certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the top choice for sustainability and we offer the widest selection available.

We display the color-coded sustainability ratings of our partners, Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) and Blue Ocean Institute (BOI), on all wild-caught seafood that’s not certified by MSC to help customers make informed choices. And we only carry green- and yellow-rated choices. Red ratings typically suggest that the fish is overfished or caught in ways that harm other marine life or habitats.

We promised to eliminate all wild-caught seafood from red-rated fisheries and we did it—ahead of our deadline. We’ve always been on the leading edge with our commitment to responsibly caught seafood. Years ago we stopped selling species that were extremely depleted in the oceans, such as orange roughy, shark and bluefin tuna.

We will no longer sell the following red-rated species:

• Atlantic Halibut
• Grey Sole (Atlantic)
• Octopus (all)
• Skate Wing
• Sturgeon
• Swordfish (from specific areas and catch methods rated “red” by our partners)
• Tautog
• Trawl-caught Atlantic Cod
• Tuna (from specific areas and catch methods rated “red” by our partners)
• Turbot
• Imported wild shrimp
• Rockfish (only certain species)

Navigating Sustainability

MSC-Certified Wild-Caught Seafood

Seafood from Marine Stewardship Council Certified Fisheries.

The Marine Stewardship Council is the world’s leading certification for sustainable seafood. It is a non-governmental organization using a multi-stakeholder, international certification program to provide incentives for fisheries to address key issues such as overfishing and bycatch.

Wild-Caught Seafood Sustainability Ratings

For wild-caught seafood that is not from MSC-certified fisheries, our stores label their products with the color-coded sustainability ratings of the Blue Ocean Institute or the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Find out more about these sustainability ratings systems below and contact your local store to find out which system they use.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch^® program works to transform the seafood market in ways that support ocean-friendly fishing and fish-farming operations. Seafood Watch® provides science-based seafood recommendations through its website, pocket guides and iPhone app to engage consumers, chefs and major seafood buyers.

Look for these colored labels to indicate the Seafood Watch® rating of each of our wild-caught products:
Abundant, well managed and caught in environmentally friendly ways.	Some concerns with how caught or with health of habitat due to other human impacts.	Presently caught in ways that harm other marine life or the environment.	Not yet rated.

Blue Ocean Institute is a nonprofit organization that works to inspire and promote marine conservation through media, arts, science and education. It shares reliable scientific information to enlighten personal choices, and aims to develop conservation solutions that are compassionate to people and ocean wildlife alike.

Look for these colored labels to indicate the Blue Ocean Institute’s rating.
Relatively abundant; fishing method causes little damage.	Some problems exist with abundance or fishing method.	Low abundance; fishing method seriously harms other wildlife or natural habitats.	Not yet rated.

Farm-Raised Seafood

Third-party verified to meet our Whole Foods Market Quality Standards for Finfish and Shrimp.

No other grocery store or fish market works as hard as we do to help keep farmed seafood and the environment healthy.