Carlisle, PA - June 2, 2010 - GIANT Food Stores, MARTIN’S Food Markets and the New England Aquarium are making a splash to raise awareness for ocean preservation in celebration of World Oceans Day on June 8. This year marks a decade-long partnership andcollaboration between GIANT, MARTIN’S and the aquarium to develop a sustainable seafood policy that provides shoppers with seafood options that are healthy andaffordable with an emphasis on improving the environmental friendliness of the seafoodthey offer.
“Our partnership with New England Aquarium provides us with the most current research and best practices of seafood sustainability to ensure we are providing our customers with quality seafood from environmentally-responsible fisheries,” said Phil Bravo, director of meat and seafood. “By working with the New England Aquarium, we have found ways to provide seafood that favors marine conservation to ensure there will be plenty of quality seafood choices in the years to come.”
GIANT and MARTIN’S sustainable seafood policy includes:
• Working only with reputable suppliers
• Active promotion of items such as Alaska salmon and tilapia that come from well
managed fisheries and farms
• Communication with consumers, associates, and shareholders about efforts to
improve sustainability, such as on our website and through our annual Corporate
Responsibility report
In addition to the sustainability efforts, GIANT and MARTIN’S is committed to freshness and provides frequent seafood deliveries, strict specifications and works with suppliers who are committed to freshness and quality. “For the last 10 years we’ve worked with GIANT and MARTIN’S to evaluate their seafood purchases and provide research and recommendations on ways to make their sustainability seafood program even stronger,” said Lydia Bergen, director of conservation at the New England Aquarium. “World Oceans Day is a great opportunity to educate everyone about how essential the oceans are to us and how we can make a difference – from choosing sustainable seafood to reducing the use of plastics and keeping them out of the ocean.”
“From starting to review and make shifts on a few key species at the beginning of our partnership with New England Aquarium to now reviewing our entire seafood assortment, we are really starting to see positive shifts in the industry as more of our vendor partners realize the need for fisheries and aquaculture improvement,” Bravo continued. “We are seeing more of our seafood supply become certified by organizations that put environmental parameters into their requirements and more sharing of best practices to help work toward applying those practices across the
board.”
Through GIANT and MARTIN’S work with the New England Aquarium, the company is viewed as a leader in working toward sustainable seafood.
June 8 marks the official United Nations-sanctioned celebration of World Oceans Day – a day that will bring hundreds of aquariums, including the New England Aquarium, zoos, museums, conservation organizations, and thousands of individuals around the world to participate in fun, inspirational, and educational events to celebrate and share best practices for ocean conservation.
World Oceans Day
