June may be Ocean Conservation Month, but we help support healthy oceans every day.
We want the world to enjoy a variety of fresh, sustainable seafood now and in the future. So we joined forces with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Ocean Trust to help preserve and protect our oceans. And we work with the National Fisheries Institute, the Food Marketing Institute and our suppliers to help create responsibility within the seafood industry through our three-phase program.
During phase one, we collect and research sustainability data for products sold in our fresh case in the seafood department. In phase two, we review the information and prioritize any fish or crustacean that appears to be declining in population. These are called species of concern. In the final phase, we start improvement projects and measure our impact. We then determine how to help improve any of the issues we find at fisheries. If, for any reason, improvement is not possible, we look for a new source or stop selling that fish in our stores until the issue is resolved.
Through our program and others implemented by our partners, we hope to advance a global effort to support a sustainable seafood industry. But it isn’t just our three-phase program that’s making waves. Our participation in the SFP helps support research about how fisheries are managed and the health of fish stocks through fishery improvement projects.
Last year, Publix became the first U.S. retailer to participate in the Ocean Disclosure Project, which provides our customers with details about their seafood choice — like the location of the fisheries, environmental impact and the type of fishing gear used — so they can make informed decisions on how their purchase will affect our oceans.
We also partnered with the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI). The GSSI is working to make sure current and future sustainability claims on seafood meet set standards so all customers can be confident in their purchase.
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Learn more about our ocean conservation efforts in this video.
