Wegmans Unveils Eco-Friendly Shrimp

Farmed shrimp suppliers will meet high health and eco-standards

Call it a ripple effect. Our farmed salmon project with leading retailer Wegmans Food Markets helped spawn our new farmed shrimp project. Starting October 2007, Wegmans is selling farmed shrimp in its seafood case that meets rigorous health and environmental standards. 

The first-of-its kind purchasing policy for shrimp is expected to ripple even farther, spurring suppliers to raise shrimp in a more ecologically responsible way. The new purchasing policy sets a high bar for the seafood industry and is a model for other retailers around the country.

Why farmed shrimp?

Shrimp is America's most popular seafood, accounting for over one quarter of all the seafood eaten in the U.S. An estimated, three fourths of that shrimp is farmed. See more quick statistics about the importance of shrimp.

Raising seafood on farms is a promising way to help fulfill the world's growing appetite for seafood. Done poorly, fish farming can destroy ecosystems and harm wild fish populations. Done well, it can produce eco-friendly, healthy seafood. Wegmans' new purchasing policy demonstrates how shrimp farming can be done well. (More on fish farming.)

Building on a successful partnership

In 2004, we began working with Wegmans to develop a purchasing policy for environmentally preferable salmon. Wegmans announced purchasing standards for farmed salmon in 2006 and began to stock frozen wild salmon certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, an organization which promotes responsible fishing practices.  Wegmans' brisk sales prompted the company to take a look at other seafood. Next on the plate was shrimp.

“Wegmans has always been committed to providing our customers with products that set a high standard for food quality, and we pride ourselves on thinking innovatively about how we purchase food in an environmentally responsible way,” said Carl Salamone, Vice President of Seafood for Wegmans. 

Better farmed shrimp: Showing how it's done

After working with the company on a purchasing policy for farmed salmon, in 2006 we teamed up with Wegmans a second time to develop standards for farmed shrimp. The new standards require farmed shrimp producers to:

• eliminate the use of antibiotics and other chemicals,
• avoid damaging sensitive wetland habitats,
• treat their waste water, and
• reduce the use of wild fish to feed shrimp. 

Suppliers will be able to demonstrate their compliance with these standards by meeting aggressive performance targets and implementing an auditing and reporting system to monitor progress.

How farmed shrimp makes a difference

Shrimp is the most popular seafood in the U.S., yet despite its popularity, it has a very poor environment record. Shrimp farming is often criticized for contaminating local habitats and converting wetlands to shrimp farms, among other concerns.  U.S shrimp farms are held to stricter regulations than many farms around the world and have made notable progress in recent years. But in Asia and Latin America, where much of our shrimp comes from, environmental regulations are sometimes lax and often not enforced.

Shrimp farming is often criticized for:

• diseases outbreaks which may threaten wild shrimp,
• releasing of waste water laden with shrimp wastes,
• contamination of shrimp with farm chemicals such as antibiotics, and
• the use of large quantities of wild caught fish to feed shrimp.

The purchasing policy we developed with Wegmans includes standards that:

• are environmentally aggressive yet achievable in today’s marketplace,
• address the main impacts of shrimp farming and
• demonstrate that environmental impacts can be reduced at minimal cost while allowing producers and retailers to differentiate their products in the marketplace. 

Next step: Other buyers can adopt the purchasing policy, too

At the present time, the farmed shrimp sold at Wegmans' seafood counter are produced in compliance with the new purchase policy. Wegmans is encouraging their other farmed shrimp suppliers, who provide the store with shrimp for its freezer case, to review the standards and begin working towards compliance.

By demonstrating both the environmental and business benefits of comprehensive environmental standards for farmed shrimp production, Environmental Defense expects that the policy will be a model for the industry.  Wegmans has long been committed to exploring sustainability initiatives and educating the public on those issues. In 2007 Wegmans was voted one of the world's most ethical companies and one of Fortune's 100 best companies to work for. Its commitment to selling seafood that meets tough health and environmental standards aligns with its business practices.

"With these new standards, we've raised the bar for farmed shrimp production while continuing to provide a healthy seafood option for Wegmans' customers,” said Gwen Ruta, Environmental Defense’s Director of Corporate Partnerships.  “Now it's time for other large seafood buyers to flex their purchasing muscle and make the same improvements in their supply chain.”

Posted: 29-Oct-2007; Updated: 12-Nov-2007