The world's largest container-shipping company refuses to carry seafood species threatened by overfishing, including shark, orange roughy and Chilean sea bass (Patagonian toothfish), as part of its new sustainable seafood policy.
New Zealand's Green Party and Greenpeace-New Zealand on Thursday publicized Maersk's move, adding that a growing number of restaurants, supermarkets and shippers worldwide are just saying "no" to unsustainable seafood.
"How far down the chain must the message get before the New Zealand seafood industry catches up with the wave of environmental awareness sweeping the world?" asked Green Party oceans spokesperson Gareth Hughes.
"Greenpeace is demanding that the shipping and airline industries end their participation in oceans destruction and stop transporting unsustainable seafood. The urgent next step must be a commitment by companies to refuse to ship the most visible of all overfished species, bluefin tuna, and other species on Greenpeace's seafood red list," said Greenpeace-New Zealand oceans campaigner Karli Thomas.
Maersk touted its new sustainable seafood policy at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels in late April, explaining that shipping by water is more eco-efficient way to deliver seafood over long distances. Transporting salmon from Norway to Korea in a Maersk reefer container emits 25 times less carbon monoxide than moving it by air, said the Danish company.
