Aquarium and Gorton's will look at fish sustainability

The New England Aquarium said it has been retained by Gloucester seafood company Gorton's Inc. to "conduct a sustainability assesment" of the sources of Gorton's seafood products.

The aquarium, a spokesman said, has done similar assesments for other companies including Royal Ahold NV, the Dutch parent of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain.

In Gorton's case, the species that will be assessed include pollock, salmon, tilapia, shrimp, haddock, sole, and cod from both wild caught and farm-raised sources, the aquarium said.

“Large wholesale buyers of seafood, like Gorton’s, have a tremendous ability to affect positive environmental change in how our seafood is harvested and raised," Lydia Bergen, a director of the aquarium’s sustainable fisheries program, said in a statement. "The power of purchasing decisions in the marketplace should not be underestimated. It is in our best interest to ensure that we better care for the oceans, an increasingly important food source worldwide.”
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)