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Issue link: https://seafoodbusiness.epubxp.com/i/72022
What's in Store endangered or are caught with "unsuitable" fi shing methods, according to the SeaChoice recommendations. Now, the Co-op's stores are urging shoppers to consider purchas- ing options it deems more sus- tainable, such as Arctic char, sablefi sh, steelhead in its trout, rainbow trout, Dungeness crab and farmed blue mussels. Federated is using signage seafood departments that refl ects SeaChoice's rank- ings and "stoplight" advisory system. Its POS sustainability information includes posters and brochures explaining its sustainable seafood policy and the SeaChoice ranking system, and pocket cards with the SeaChoice ranking. Co-op shoppers have re- Creative co-ops Sustainability ratings are visible, but the choices belong to the shoppers BY CHRISTINE BLANK C o-op grocery stores are realiz- ing major seafood sales as a result of comprehensive sustainability programs and a focus on sourcing high- quality product. For example, the 165 Co- op food stores, operated by Federated Co-operatives Ltd., recently began marketing a Reel in the Solution! sustain- able seafood program to its shoppers. T e program was developed by the Saskatoon, 32 SeaFood Business July 2012 Saskatchewan–based super- market chain and SeaChoice, a consortium of fi ve Canadian conservation that scientifi cally assess wild and farmed seafood species. T e organization uses the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program as the basis of its assessments. After reviewing all of its seafood supplies over the past year, Federated removed At- lantic halibut, blue marlin, shark, Chilean sea bass, long- lined swordfi sh, skates, rays and orange roughy from its shelves because the stocks are organizations sponded positively to the new program, says Lisa Sparrow- Moellenbeck, Federated's food-safety manager. "T ey want to know where their product is coming from, and the status of it. T ey real- ize that not everything they are going to eat is going to be [a best choice], so they are purchasing some green and some yellow items," says Sparrow-Moellenbeck. Federated currently features eight green-ranked SKUs and 22 yellow SKUs. "Probably 35 percent of our fresh seafood off ering is sustainable now, and we are working toward 100 percent," says Sparrow-Moellenbeck. Instead of switching seafood distributors in the move to- ward sustainability, the chain continues to source sustain- able seafood through Pacifi c Fresh Fish Co. in Regina, Sask., and Calgary, Alberta- based City Fish. Federated executives also what maintains seafood- department profi tability at Hanover, N.H.-based Ha- nover Consumer Cooperative, which operates three grocery stores and a convenience store. "We are not going to com- pete with [supermarkets] on price, so we compete on qual- ity and knowledge. We know "We are not going to compete with [supermarkets] on price, so we compete on quality and knowledge." — Tony White, operations director, Hanover Consumer Co-Op where our product is coming from," says Tony White, op- erations director for Hanover Consumer Co-Op. T e company has part- nered with FishWise's seafood sustainability program (also based on Seafood Watch) for the past fi ve years. Hanover still off ers se- lect FishWise red-list species (items to avoid) because of shopper demand. "Atlantic cod is probably never going to be anything but red-tagged in the Fish- Wise program. However, we have long-standing relation- ships with small, family fi sh- ermen who do line-caught cod off the Georges Bank," says White. Hanover carries some red- fo- cused on fresh seafood for the fi rst phase of the program and plan to review canned and frozen value-added seafood products over the next year. Focusing on sourcing high- quality, sustainable seafood is list items but doesn't advertise them. "Our approach is to ed- ucate the consumer, including letting them know they may want to fi nd another fi shery that has a higher rating, and then let them make the deci- sion," says White. Contributing Editor Christine Blank lives in Lake Mary, Fla. Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com Federated Co-operatives' Reel in the Solution! program uses a 'stoplight' system. Photo courtesy of Federated Co-operatives Ltd.