Greenpeace

IntraFish says “retailers seem to be reacting, rather than initiating action, to improve their seafood sustainability practices. And it’s that decision to follow rather than lead that has supermarket chains having to explain themselves in the wake of Greenpeace's rankings on how sustainable their seafood procurement practices are.”

So, the report is out and folks have had a few days to digest it. From the media and blog coverage there appears to be a genuine sense of… huh?

So, the report is out and folks have had a few days to digest it. From the media and blog coverage there appears to be a genuine sense of… huh?  

So, the report is out and folks have had a few days to digest it. From the media and blog coverage there appears to be a genuine sense of… huh?  

Eco Extremists Target Grocery Stores in Misguided Effort June 17, 2008 Washington, D.C. – Greenpeace's efforts to disrupt American seafood sales are underway. With the release of a new and flawed report on seafood sustainability the eco extremist group began targeting U.S. grocery stores in an effort to force them to remove half of all seafood from sale. The campaign includes a ranking of grocery stores according to Greenpeace’s sustainability standards. “Consumers should know that the retailer rankings presented in this report have no credibility,” said John Connelly, National Fisheries Institute (NFI) President. “The non-science based standards by which Greenpeace came to its conclusions highlight the weaknesses in this document and undermine its own efforts.” Ignoring the hard work stores have done to ensure the seafood products they offer are sustainable the report says, “most U.S. supermarkets continue to purchase seafood with little consideration for the health of fish stocks they sell and even less concern for how seafood was caught, or for the effects on the wider marine environment.” “Greenpeace is painting retailers and the entire seafood industry with a very broad and misleading brush as part if this ill conceived strategy to pressure stores,” said Connelly. “This campaign is based on ideology and hysteria not facts.” Greenpeace most recently carried out the same campaign in Europe. The next step, following the rankings, was a dangerous and illegal campaign of direct action against stores that refused to give in to their unreasonable demands.  “Greenpeace’s actions in Europe were vandalism not activism, plain and simple. If we see that type of behavior here it will further marginalize this already fringe group and serve only to detract from ongoing and substantive sustainability discussions.” For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.                                                                                ### Contact Information:  Gavin Gibbons (703) 752-8891 ggibbons@nfi.org

Eco-Extremists Claim Clash with Fishermen at Sea June 3, 2008 Washington – Following weeks of Greenpeace action against tuna vessels world wide that include vandalizing tuna boats operating legally in the Pacific Ocean, boarding vessels in the Mediterranean and stealing Korean fishing gear, a new confrontation has marred the on-going dispute. Greenpeace claims a Turkish tuna vessel rammed one of its protest ships on Friday but no one was injured. “Allegations of such actions, if accurate, unfortunately stoop to Greenpeace’s level,” said National Fisheries Institute (NFI) President John Connelly. “Everyone has the right to defend themselves but engaging other ships at sea, even ones that are harassing you, is a dangerous tactic that should be left up to authorities.” Connelly, who is also a Captain in the United States Navy Reserve said, “confrontations of any sort on the open seas are ill-advised and are simply not constructive tools when it comes to advancing an agenda.” A spokesperson for Greenpeace told the Associated Press the confrontation, "endangered the safety of our crew and ship and is completely unacceptable.” “These types of encounters are in fact unacceptable. And any activist group that thinks challenging another vessel on the high seas is romantic or exciting and has public relations appeal, is misguided and should rethink their tactics before there is a tragedy,” said Connelly. For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.                                                                                                          ###   Contact Information:  Gavin Gibbons (703) 752-8891 ggibbons@nfi.org

Let me start by saying I don't endorse violent confrontations as a means of protest in any way shape or form and neither does NFI... but in playing the victim after a confrontation at sea Greenpeace has once again exposed its unending hypocrisy of message and method. Its message is "peace" but its record is not-so-peaceful. Its methods are confrontational but when confronted it objects.