Stop & Shop partners with Ocean Disclosure Project to increase transparency around seafood sourcing

Stop & Shop has partnered with the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) to voluntarily report its seafood sources, the Northeast regional grocer announced on Tuesday. The new partnership adds another layer of transparency to the supermarket’s already comprehensive seafood policy.

While Stop & Shop’s existing policy ensures that its seafood is only sourced from sustainable and traceable fisheries and farms, working with the ODP will now make information on the original sources of Stop & Shop’s private label and wild-caught seafood available to customers.

“As an East Coast retailer, fish is an important part of our business —as is how we source it,” said Gordon Reid, president of Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop, which operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. “With the approaching Lenten season, it’s important our customers know how committed we are to sustainable seafood practices and this additional layer of transparency will help us do just that.”

While Stop & Shop’s existing policy ensures that its seafood is only sourced from sustainable and traceable fisheries and farms, working with the ODP will now make information on the original sources of Stop & Shop’s private label and wild-caught seafood available to customers.

Tania Woodcock, project manager for the Ocean Disclosure Project, said, “By voluntarily participating in the Ocean Disclosure Project, Stop & Shop has demonstrated its willingness to be held accountable for its seafood commitments and to provide more transparency. Stop & Shop’s disclosure reveals that its sourcing practices are aligned with its sustainable seafood policy.”

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Stop & Shop also works with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), a nonprofit organization that helps to assess whether seafood items entering stores meet the criteria set forth by Stop & Shop’s seafood policy. Through this partnership, Stop & Shop and GMRI work with seafood suppliers to ensure traceability to the fishery or farm source for all seafood products sold in the company’s more than 400 stores across the Northeast.

“Tracing seafood to its source is an important part of Stop & Shop’s policy, enabling them to be transparent about those sources,” said Kyle Foley, senior program manager for GMRI. “Joining the Ocean Disclosure Project is a strong demonstration of Stop & Shop’s commitment to transparency around their seafood and one more way to contribute to the global efforts to improve the sustainability of seafood.”

Stop & Shop’s commitment to the ocean goes deeper than its work with ODP and GMRI. Stop & Shop recycled more than 350 million pounds of material including plastics and cardboard in 2020 and has made investments in local environmental conservation groups such as Riverkeeper, which protects NY’s Hudson River, The Coastal Research & Education Society of Long Island, Inc., and Westchester Land Trust in Westchester County, N.Y.

Related:Albertsons achieves sustainable sourcing for own-brand seafood