Wal-Mart to source fish "sustainably".

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retail chain and the largest seller of food in the United States, announced that it would begin certifying all of its seafood for the North American market as "sustainably sourced" in three to five years. Wal-Mart will use the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an international fishery certification program that assesses the status of a given fish stock and how it is managed, and uses an eco-label to notify consumers. Leading environmental groups Conservation International and the World Wildlife Fund helped broker the decision and will assist Wal-Mart suppliers in seeking MSC certification.

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"We believe it's absolutely essential to take a leadership role in working with suppliers to ensure that the world's wild fish populations can grow and replenish themselves," said Peter Redmond, Wal-Mart vice president and divisional merchandise manager of deli and seafood. The announcement covers only wild-caught fish, so shrimp, salmon, and other products raised in fish farms will not be included, nor will breaded fish products and other processed seafood. Still, the MSC hopes the decision will help Wal-Mart customers become aware of the issue of sustainability; change the behavior of the company's suppliers, processors, and fisheries; and ultimately pressure Wal-Mart's competitors to make similar changes.

Environmentalists who follow ocean issues seem to agree. "Wal-Mart has huge market clout," said Rebecca Gold-burg, senior scientist at Environmental Defense. "The result will almost certainly be improvements in fisheries management as new fisheries work to achieve certification."

Wal-Mart's January announcement already appears to have prompted a cascade of similar announcements in the food landscape. Darden Restaurants, parent company of the popular Red Lobster seafood chain, has also announced plans to certify all of its farm-raised shrimp "to ensure it is grown in a sustainable way, with minimal impacts on the environment." And Compass Group USA, which is one of the nation's largest food-service companies and purchases approximately 1 million pounds of fish each year, announced that it would shift corporate purchases away from threatened fish species.

This hopeful news comes as a recent UN conference reported that the international goals of eliminating illegal fishing and fishing overcapacity by 2005 have not been met. At the current pace, the goal of establishing a global network of marine protected areas by 2012 will not be met until 2085.

The illustrations for this Environmental Intelligence section were created by students in Glenna Lang's advanced illustration class at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.