Publix seafood to get new grades

Publix is taking a much closer look at the fish sold in its stores. But not necessarily for freshness or price, or even damage from oil spilling in the Gulf.

Officials at Publix are starting to reveal details about a company-wide project to rank seafood supplies on sustainability and to stop buying stocks that don't meet certain standards over time.

Like the boom in reusable bags and organic vegetables, it's another case of the overall concept of sustainability changing the grocery landscape. And like families at the dinner table debating how to define being "green," it's a delicate process for grocery stores to balance the drawbacks of buying seafood caught in the wild versus seafood raised in fish farms that have their own environmental issues attached.

Ultimately, more than 300 seafood items that Publix sells will come under a new grading scale, from high-end tuna steaks to frozen shrimp. This generally follows the direction in which more grocery stores are heading. Target recently revamped its sourcing of salmon so it only buys wild-caught fish.

The Publix project has been in the works for three years but kicked off in earnest last summer when Publix chief executive Ed Crenshaw spoke in a private meeting that Publix called with more than 70 of its seafood suppliers.

"We told them, 'You need to get on board,'" said Publix spokeswoman Shannon Patten. If a supplier could not improve bad scores on a given species, Patten said Publix would look for suppliers who could make the commitment.

Publix already sells 47 products certified by the Marine Stewardship Council with high marks, including Patagonian Bay scallops, Alaskan coho, king and sockeye salmon, Alaskan pollock, halibut and sablefish.

This new process will unfold over the next year, though it may not be overtly apparent to customers. Publix is working behind the scenes with three environmental groups to develop standards: Ocean Trust, Ocean Conservancy and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.

By August, Publix expects SFP in particular to help categorize supplies into three groups: "Sustainable," "Needs Improvement" and "Needs Major Improvement."

While still under development, those sustainability grades will derive from a long list of criteria: general strengths and weaknesses of each fishery, stock status and environmental impact. Each category has sub-tests. For instance, the environmental test takes into account the amount and type of other species caught by accident and habitat damage by the type of gear or farming method used.

The scores will be species-focused, Patten said.

For Gulf of Maine Cod, Patten said the primary driver would be current stock assessments that could indicate overfishing. With wild-harvested Gulf shrimp, a key factor would be the amount of other species caught by accident and turtle interaction.

Rather than an instant boycott of supplies that score low, Publix officials said they'll apply pressure on the fishery to improve its practices. If the fishery doesn't improve over time, Publix will stop buying a given stock from it.

Mass retailer Target this January took a similar stand on seafood and announced a project to eliminate all farmed salmon from its fresh, frozen and smoked seafood in stores. That includes Target brands such as Archer Farms and Market Pantry, plus all national brands. All salmon in Target stores will be wild caught, including salmon used in sushi.

And hence a dilemma for grocery stores.

On one hand, harvesting from the wild can deplete natural populations. But on the other hand, most alternatives have drawbacks as well. Target in particular cited pollution and chemicals from salmon farms, plus the risk of "non-native" fish escaping into the environment.

"Every method has a different kind of impact," Patten said. "We can't say across the board that it's better to raise seafood this way or that. What's important is that we look at the overall quality of the product and make sure it's harvested in a sustainable manner for our customers."

The good news is that most of the seafood sold in the United States is sustainable, said Thor Lassen, president of Ocean Trust. And there are many sustainable sources of wild and farmed seafood.

More grocery stores are looking at sustainability for business reasons as well as environmental.

"They are in the business to provide food today as well as tomorrow," Lassen said. "In addition to being good stewards, it makes good business sense to protect your sources."