WILD OATS MARKETS REMOVES
FOUR OVERFISHED SPECIES FROM STORES
BOULDER, CO - Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (the "Company")
today reported it will discontinue carrying
swordfish,
orange roughy,
marlin, and
Chilean sea bass
until a recovery plan that will restore these fish is adopted. Often caught before they have
a chance to reproduce, populations of these fish are plummeting due to overfishing and indiscriminate fishing tactics.
"Floods, drought and overgrazing that affect food sources on land can be readily seen and measured. The effects
of overfishing cannot be easily seen in the oceans. We need to be proactive to save these species for future generations,"
said Paul Gingerich, Wild Oats' meat and seafood purchasing director.
In addition to not carrying these species of fish, Wild Oats is partnering with hundreds of chefs across the U.S.,
the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and SeaWeb on their "Give Swordfish a Break" campaign. "Wild
Oats is assuming a leadership role and is to be commended," said Vikki Spruill, executive director of SeaWeb.
Chilean sea bass, another name for Patagonian toothfish, is a native of the Antarctic. A slow-maturing fish that
can live up to 50 years, its remote habitat makes overfishing difficult to regulate. Orange roughy takes up to
30 years to sexually mature and can live to be over 100 years old.
Overfishing has particularly affected swordfish - longlining and drift net fishing can catch juvenile swordfish
as well as marlin, sharks, turtles and marine mammals. The average size of swordfish caught today is significantly
below the size females must be to reproduce.
At a November meeting in Brazil, members of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(ICCAT) will meet to discuss quota reductions in swordfish fishing. Spain, the U.S. and Canada account for approximately
80% of the North Atlantic swordfish catch.
Lisa Speer, senior policy analyst at NRDC, said "This meeting represents a key opportunity for the U.S. government
to secure agreement on an international recovery plan that will restore swordfish within ten years. Doing so will
benefit everyone - fishermen, consumers and the ocean environment."
Jim Lee, President and Chief Operating Officer of Wild Oats, said "Wild Oats believes adopting high standards
of quality in all we do is an investment in the future; a future that is ecologically, socially and economically
sustainable. We believe in the consumer's right to know about issues. We also believe in "organikarma (tm)" - that what goes around comes around." As a socially responsible
corporation, Wild Oats gave more than $1 million in 1998 to over 1,200 grassroots organizations making positive
changes in the world.
Wild Oats Markets, Inc., is the second largest natural foods supermarket chain in North America. The Company currently
owns and operates 78 stores in 20 states and British Columbia. More information on Wild Oats is available through
its website, at http://www.wildoats.com.
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, non-profit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental
specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. More information on NRDC can be found at
http://www.nrdc.org. SeaWeb, with
funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts, is a non-partisan multimedia public education initiative designed to raise
awareness of the ocean and ocean life. More information on SeaWeb and the Pew Charitable Trusts is available at
http://www.seaweb.org.
