Fish fail

After receiving an “F” in Greenpeace’s most recent sustainable-seafood guide, Trader Joe’s has announced a plan to stock its shelves with only sustainable seafood by the end of 2012, according to a Greenpeace press release.

Greenpeace gave the popular grocer the failing grade for insufficient seafood labeling and sometimes blatantly misleading customers with signs that claim the seafood is sustainable. The grocer was also criticized for selling 15 of 22 “red-listed” seafood items, including Alaskan pollock, Atlantic cod and Chilean sea bass.

In response to hounding by Greenpeace activists, Trader Joe’s has promised to remove all “red-listed” seafood items from its shelves, provide accurate information on all seafood labels (including catch or production method), and work with third-party organizations to address such customer concerns as overfishing and the importance of marine-life reserves.

The grocer has also agreed to use its buying power to influence overall change in the seafood industry.