Walmart’s new seafood rules could change what’s in your lunch box — here’s what’s coming in 2027

Résumé détaillé

To keep up with demand while producing stronger standards, Walmart has updated its seafood policy.

The discount chain sells an enormous amount of seafood compared with other retailers across the country. In fact, since the ’70s, the demand for seafood has quintupled, with billions of shoppers relying on fish as their main protein source.

To keep up with demand while producing stronger standards, Walmart has updated its seafood policy.

The Arkansas-based retailer is officially cracking down on its seafood sourcing rules — particularly for canned tuna. The move will make sure unsustainable and potentially illegal fishing is no longer being practiced.

Walmart first introduced the policy back in June 2023, with the deadline for the biggest changes set to take effect next year. The new policy will apply to every U.S. and Canadian store — including all Sam’s Club locations.

The new set of standards are aimed at “improving transparency and data gathering in the tuna supply chain to address issues such as accidental catch of non-targeted species, illegal fishing and abandonment of fishing gear, all of which continue to pose a threat to ocean ecosystems,” the company said in a press release.

This means that tuna suppliers will now be forced to meet a new set of sustainability standards — including third-party certification or participation in qualifying fishery improvement programs.

Each trip that fishing boats or ships take will need to be tracked to record catch data – ensuring legal compliance.

The retailer said it will no longer do business with fisheries that transfer fish or fish products from one fishing vessel to another vessel at sea. The practice of at-sea transshipment may prevent accurate data about seafood products and allow ships to hide illegal and unreported fishing activities.

These new rules are there to help the mega-corporation eliminate these systemic issues — like illegal and destructive fishing — to help curb extinction as the rise of unregulated fishing grows.

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