Costco Expands Seafood Sustainability Policy

SN STAFF

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco Wholesale Corp. here has announced that it will discontinue the sale of Atlantic cod, Atlantic halibut, Chilean sea bass, Greenland halibut, grouper, monkfish, orange roughy, redfish, shark, skates, rays, swordfish and bluefin tuna — all species that have been defined as "at risk" by seafood groups.

In a three-page description outlining this policy and others related to seafood sustainability, the company said it would not resume sale of any of these species unless a supplier can have its sources certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.

The company is also working with the World Wildlife Fund to identify sustainable fisheries for other species that "have been identified as at risk in certain respects. Those efforts may lead us to cease sales of additional species," the document states.