QUINCY, Mass., June 2 — Stop & Shop and the New England Aquarium are making a splash around ocean preservation and World Oceans Day, June 8. This year marks a ten-year milestone for Stop & Shop and the New England Aquarium. The organizations have worked together for the last decade to develop a sustainable seafood policy that provides Stop & Shop customers with seafood options that are healthy and affordable with an emphasis on improving the environmental friendliness of the seafood they offer.
"Stop & Shop was one of the first grocery stores in the country to partner with an outside resource to become educated in the best practices of seafood sustainability," said Faith Weiner, senior director of public affairs at Stop & Shop. "We knew it was important to put science-based research behind our policy, that's why partnering with the New England Aquarium seemed like such a natural fit."
Stop & Shop's sustainable seafood policy includes:
•Working only with reputable suppliers
•Actively promoting items that come from well-managed fisheries and farms such as Pacific longline-caught cod, Alaska salmon, Arctic char and tilapia
•Educating consumers, associates, and shareholders about efforts to improve sustainability through www.stopandshop.com and the company's annual Corporate Responsibility report
In addition to its sustainability efforts, Stop & Shop is committed to freshness and provides frequent seafood deliveries, strict specifications and works with suppliers who are committed to freshness and quality.
"For the last 10 years we've worked with Stop & Shop to evaluate their seafood purchases and provide research and recommendations on ways to make their sustainability seafood program even stronger," said Lydia Bergen, director of conservation at the New England Aquarium. "World Oceans Day is a great opportunity to educate everyone about how essential the oceans are to us, and how we can make a difference – from choosing sustainable seafood to reducing the use of plastics to keep them out of the ocean."
The last decade marked a significant evolution in the way Stop & Shop manages its seafood business.
Early recommendations by the New England Aquarium resulted in an initial shift in purchasing decisions around a handful of key species which paved the way for a wide-sweeping review of Stop & Shop's entire seafood assortment.
"We're proud to be a leader in the sustainable seafood movement and rely on our partnership with the New England Aquarium to help us make responsible decisions," added Weiner. "We are seeing more of our seafood supply become certified by organizations that put environmental parameters into their requirements and more sharing of best practices in the industry to help work toward applying those practices across the board."
World Oceans Day
June 8 marks the official United Nations-sanctioned celebration of World Oceans Day – a day that will bring hundreds of aquariums, including the New England Aquarium, zoos, museums, conservation organizations, and thousands of individuals around the world to participate in fun, inspirational, and educational events to celebrate and share best practices for ocean conservation.
As part of the celebration, Stop & Shop and the New England Aquarium will host a "Blue Discovery Family Day Festival" on Sunday, June 6, on the Central Wharf Plaza and in the New England Aquarium's new harbor-side pavilion from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET. The festival will include family-friendly activities including games, a scavenger hunt to learn ocean facts and a sustainable seafood cooking demonstration.
Source: Stop & Shop Supermarket Company