Whole Story

The Official Whole Foods Market® Blog

Supplier Stories: Wild Planet

By Carly Price, March 9, 2012  |  Meet the Blogger  |  More Posts by Carly Price

We love our producers, suppliers and vendors and we think most of them have some pretty interesting stories behind their products too. We’re sharing some of our favorites here in an ongoing series.

Wild Planet always considers the interests of their most important stakeholders — the fish. “Ocean conservation is our first concern. We really view the fish as the major stakeholder,” says William Carvalho, who co-founded Wild Planet with Bill McCarthy in 2003.

After decades in the seafood industry, they decided to cast off common practices that negatively impact our oceans and angle for a more sustainable way of doing business that helps preserve healthy and abundant fish stocks.

“Being in the seafood industry isn't just about making money; it’s about participating in the stewardship of ocean harvest and providing food for people,” William says. “We feel a great responsibility to be an example in the industry . . . doing what is good for the planet.”

All packaged seafood from Wild Planet — including albacore tuna, skipjack tuna, sardines, salmon and shrimp — are sourced from fisheries deemed “best choices for sustainability” by environmental agencies, including Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program, Blue Ocean Institute and others.

These fisheries utilize methods that virtually eliminate bycatch, which may include unwanted fish, sharks, rays, sea turtles, seabirds and other creatures that are unintentionally caught along with the target species.

Tuna is caught one fish at a time with pole and line or trolling; sardines and salmon are netted in single-species schools; and shrimp are harvested using mid-water trawling. Sourcing directly from fisheries also allows Wild Planet to control quality and assure traceability, which means every can of tuna is packed with plenty of rich flavor and beneficial omega-3s.

“We follow the fish all the way from the hook to the consumers' plate.”

 

5 Comments

Comments

Marian Specter says ...
Hello, Thank you for your responsible position regarding seafood. We count on you not to buy Atlantic salmon from Canada. Cooke Aquaculture of New Brunswick is currently trying to spread open net pen systems massively into Nova Scotia. This company has a very questionable track record vis-a-vis the environment. Their 3 top executives are currently on trial for illegal pesticide use on salmon that resulted in the death of thousands of lobsters.
03/14/2012 8:18:04 PM CDT
Lorraine Doodakan says ...
LOVE your products, however Can you Please tell me why your products are processed in Vietnam (Tuna)----Wild Sardines label states caught along the california coast "Sustainably"--but again lable states Processed in Vietnam....again love the flavors--do not like the shipping to another country for peocessing--please find a processing plant in the USA and make it really Sustainably as your lable saids...please feel free to email me. Thanks
03/14/2012 8:29:25 PM CDT
janejohnson says ...
@Lorraine: Thanks for your feedback.
03/19/2012 12:34:38 PM CDT
Richard Onysko says ...
I agree with Lorraine, I'd rather see all operations accomplished domestically. Also, are cans BPA free and is olive oil or anything else used, organic?
03/20/2012 6:59:55 PM CDT
Maya M says ...
70% of domestic seafood is sourced from the Gulf of Mexico, waters that were and are still poisoned with oil, Corexit, and other dangerous chemical dispersants. go to facebook.com/realcoastalwarriors. wild sea life is washing up dead on beaches all over the globe--not sure if any of it -isn't- polluted. i am not at all concerned about food being processed in a US plant when the vast majority of US food companies & corporations are poisoning us all with GMO's in processed food and have been for decades. http://naturalrevolution.org
04/27/2013 8:25:15 PM CDT