Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Seafood Distributors, and Companies that Support the Boycott

To view the list of companies that support a boycott,

The international boycott of Canadian seafood was implemented on March 29th, 2005, by some of the world's largest and most powerful animal and environmental protection organizations to end Canada's commercial seal hunt.

While supporters of the sealing industry claim a boycott will not stop the seal hunt, Canada's fishing industry is more susceptible to a consumer boycott today than at any time in its history.

There are two reasons why this is true. First, because recent Country-of-Origin labeling (COOL)legislation in the United States and European Union require all grocery stores to label seafood packaging with the country where the seafood was caught. Second, because some of the largest markets for Canadian seafood are in countries where the vast majority of consumers are opposed to Canada's annual seal slaughter. because of the traditional export trade patterns of Canadian seafood .

As a result of the recent COOL legislation, consumers in the United States and European Union will be able to identify Canadian seafood items right in their grocery stores.

Seafood sold in U.S. supermarkets, everything from wild salmon to bagged frozen shrimp to Mrs. Paul's fish sticks, will carry new labels this fall stating where it was caught, where it was processed and whether it is wild or farmed. The new labeling requirement is the result of a little noticed provision of a federal spending bill that recently passed Congress. It singles out the seafood industry as the first to conform to a "country of origin" food labeling law that the beef and pork industries have vigorously opposed.

And from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada web site:

Canada exports over 80% of its fish and seafood production to more than 80 countries. In 2003, exports (630, 427 tonnes) were valued at $4.5 billion. The United States is Canada's largest export market (70% of Canadian seafood trade is with the U.S.), followed by Japan and the European Union.

1. The single most important thing you can do to help end the seal hunt is to boycott all seafood products from Canada, until the commercial seal hunt ends.  The Canadian Seafood Boycott began on the day that the first seal was killed as a result of the commercial seal hunt.  It will end only when the Canadian government agrees to a timely end to the commercial seal hunt.

Residents of the United States and the European Union can look for the Country of Origin Label (COOL) at their grocery store or seafood retailer to identify all seafood products from Canada.

If you do not find COOL labeling on seafood at your local U.S. grocery store, contact Harpseals.org and let them know the address and telephone number of the store and the name of the seafood manager and store manager. They will notify the appropriate authorities in the U.S. of the store's non-compliance.
 
Residents of Canada who purchase fish at the retail level will have to ask the seafood manager or retailer to identify which products do not come from Canada.  No Country of Origin Labeling regulations exist in this country.

2. When you eat out, ask your restaurateur or server for only non-Canadian seafood menu items.

3. Ask family, friends and acquaintances to boycott all Canadian seafood.  Let them know about the Country of Origin Labeling required on all seafood packaging in the United States and the European Union.  Request that when they dine out they ask their restaurateur or server for only non-Canadian seafood menu items.

4. Leave a Boycott Bill with your restaurant payment.  The bill will remind the restaurant management of the need to boycott Canadian seafood.  A French Boycott Bill and an English Boycott Bill are available.