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Net Working "The dynamics of this business have not changed: purchasing it, moving it, understanding it and also what we as an industry can do to assure we have it around for our grandchildren." Photo courtesy of Wegmans Food Markets Carl Salamone VP-seafood sustainability Wegmans Food Markets Rochester, N.Y. BY JAMES WRIGHT D uring a supermarket career spanning nearly fve decades, Carl Salamone became one of the most respected seafood merchandisers in the business. Midway through last year, he was named VP of seafood sustainability for Wegmans, a family-owned chain of 83 stores in six Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states with annual sales of $6.6 billion. Salamone has spent all 47 years of his retail career at the grocer based in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. Te only other employer he's ever known was the U.S. Army during the mid-1960s. He clearly understands what dedicated service is all about. A focus on sustainability is not limited to seafood at Wegmans, which has an overarching goal of limiting its carbon footprint, increasing awareness of reduce-reuse-recycle facilities in its stores and educating consumers about all of its environmental stewardship eforts. Sourcing products from like-minded companies is paramount, says Salamone, 67, adding that the commitment to sustainability is deeply important to the Wegman family — and it's nothing new. "Doing things right is part of the company's DNA," he says. Did you ever foresee your position being reality, much less a necessity? When I frst got started, my biggest challenge was just learning how to sell seafood. We were very limited in our supply at the time; all the fsh was from the North Atlantic, very little farmed fsh and just a little shrimp. Trough the 1970s and '80s, there was never any concern about sustainable fsh. It seemed like it was a never-ending resource. It wasn't until the 2000s that we began to see that it's not. So to answer your question, no, it was the furthest thing from my mind. How different is the new job? Six months in now, I recognize that if you're going to be serious about sustainability you have to devote your full working time to it. In my past as a seafood merchant, yes, I was concerned about sustainability, but my primary job was to merchandise seafood. 40 SeaFood Business January 2014 How important is it for prominent food companies like yours to make this type of commitment? I was humbled the Wegman family thought of me for this position. I know sustainability is so important to the family. Tey said to me that we are going to devote your whole working week to it. I've worked with three generations of Wegmans now. [Tat commitment] is inbred. Will other retailers follow your lead? I'd like to think so. It's a position a company has to feel very strongly about to put a person in charge of this particular part of it. What's changed in the seafood business? And what hasn't? My frst visit to the Boston Fish Pier was in 1975. Tere was so much fsh you could trip over it. It felt like a neverending resource. Now sustainability is at the top of the list, as well as working as direct as you can, with fshermen and farms. Fifteen years ago, it was all third- or fourth-party [sourcing]. As the resource became more challenged we had to go back further in the chain. What hasn't changed? Te fact that every single day, something changes. Te dynamics of this business have not changed: purchasing it, moving it, understanding it and also what we as an industry can do to assure we have it around for our grandchildren. Is simply saying 'no' to a pressured species a smart strategy? Saying no doesn't help anything. But saying we're willing to see the fshery improve … We are not here to put anyone out of business, but to sell seafood from healthy resources. We're working on [fshery improvement projects] and challenged seven suppliers to work on one FIP in the United States. Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com