The latest Seafood Progress assessment shows major Canadian retailers exclude some direct products like fresh, frozen or shelf stable seafood, and most indirect products where seafood is an ingredient such as supplements, beauty products and pet food.

From fish oil, to salad dressing, to mascara, seafood is hidden in unexpected places. And in some cases, these ingredients include species at risk. For example, there are a number of species in marine collagen products that would be deemed unsustainable and/or inherently vulnerable to exploitation, particularly tuna and sharks. Additionally, found in lotions, makeup and sunscreen (among other beauty products), squalene is an ingredient often derived from sharks. In fact, 70% of shark squalene worldwide is sold to the cosmetics industry.

In an effort to educate consumers on the types of indirect products that contain seafood ingredients, SeaChoice solicited volunteers to collect photos and information on health, beauty, pet food and shelf stable (aside from canned) products that contain seafood ingredients. Check out the full results. 

In past Seafood Progress assessments SeaChoice has explored the nature and supporting elements of retailer policies (do they have timebound goals, full chain traceability, etc). However, we have found that even the most robust policies are limited in scope. This is often not well communicated as retailers market their policies in a way that suggests they apply to everything and downplay which stores and products are excluded. To shine a spotlight on this issue, SeaChoice’s latest report takes a closer look at which seafood products and stores retailers’ ethical sourcing policies actually apply to, and which they avoid responsibility for. Additionally, we took a more in depth look at which direct and indirect products Canadian retailers’ seafood policies cover. 

The major retailers included in this report are: Costco, Loblaw, METRO, Pattison Food Group (owns Save-On-Foods and Buy-Low Foods), Sobeys and Walmart. We asked these retailers which:

1. Brand types (private label, third-party and unbranded), 
2. Stores (check out which stores each retailer owns), and 
3. Product categories are covered by their sustainable seafood policies. 

The following product categories where seafood is the main component or an ingredient of a product were considered:

Direct Products

• Fresh: Whole or portioned seafood, sushi, prepared seafood dishes in deli, soups, etc. 
• Frozen: Whole or portioned seafood, prepared meals, etc. 
• Shelf stable: Canned, jarred, and bagged products, as well as sauces, chips, oils, dressings, soups, broths, spreads, dips, etc.

Indirect Products 

• Health: Fish oil, supplements, vitamins, etc. (examples here).
• Beauty: Makeup, hair products, face creams, etc. (examples here).
• Pet food: Cat and dog food, treats, etc. 
• Garden: Fertilizer, soil, plant food, etc. 

The results indicate that retailers continue to shirk responsibility, as a whopping 49% of the seafood they sell is NOT covered by their sustainable seafood policies. 

The following infographic shows the percentage of seafood each retailer’s seafood policy covers. For information on how retailers were scored, see our scoring methodology.

Here is what stood out to us from the results:

• Retailers are covering far more direct products at 63% than indirect products at 15%. 
• Costco achieved the highest score at 74% and is one of two retailers whose policy covers some indirect products. However, Costco excludes the huge volume of third-party brands it sells and has no plans to cover these products under its policy. 
• METRO covers nearly all direct products across all its stores, with the exception of shelf stable products which it only covers ‘some’ of. 
• Pattison Food Group scored the lowest at a mere 23% as its policy does not cover ANY shelf stable, health, beauty, pet food or garden products and appears to only apply to Save-On-Foods (one of thirteen of its store chains). 
• 11 of Sobeys’ 19 store chains are not covered by its sustainable seafood policy. 
• None of the retailers’ policies cover any garden products that contain seafood. 

Additionally, SeaChoice would like to acknowledge Loblaw for being the only retailer whose policy covers all health, beauty and pet food products. However, a major chain and significant seafood seller, T&T Supermarket, is still excluded from Loblaw’s ethical sourcing policy. 

Another important theme from this report is that retailers’ sustainable seafood policies and human rights policies prioritize private label seafood over third-party brands (e.g. Clover Leaf, Aqua Star and High Liner). This follows a global theme of retailers not taking responsibility for products that they don’t own. 

As mounting investigations suggest slave labor and environmental abuses remain prevalent in seafood supply chains, retailers must implement a due diligence approach to sourcing. However, to be in a position to identify and assess adverse impacts, retailers need to first take accountability for all the seafood they sell. 

Send a letter to retailers demanding they stop selling unethical seafood and take accountability for their products.