PriceSmart Collaborates with Scripps Institution of Oceanography

PriceSmart Collaborates with Scripps Institution of Oceanography

In 2019, PriceSmart and Price Philanthropies partnered with UC San Diego's world-renowned Scripps Institute of Oceanography to undertake a baseline assessment of seafood sourcing in our Costa Rican clubs. In 2021 we renewed the partnership, and in FY2022 we launched a three-year program to expand the evaluation to the portfolio of seafood products sold in each of our clubs.

In addition, we also hosted Scripps-led workshops for our buyers focused on topics that include sustainable aquaculture, understanding the ecological and health implications of wild caught and farm raised seafood, the importance of traceability and transparency in declarations about where product is caught, as well as the many different types of seafood certifications and what they mean.

We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and to supporting long-term ocean stewardship.

Making Seafood More Sustainable

Beginning in FY2022, we established a partnership with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and their Center for Marine Biodiversity & Conservation (CMBC) to help inform and develop sustainable seafood procurement practices at PriceSmart. The goals of the initiative included providing education, guidance, and technical support to PriceSmart’s seafood purchasing teams, strengthening their sustainable seafood procurement practices and helping them feel empowered to assess seafood products on their sustainability.

Over the course of three years, researchers from the CMBC’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative hosted eight workshops, both virtually and in-person, that focused on various topics related to sustainable seafood procurement. Participants included members of our procurement team as well as staff involved with merchandising, marketing, sustainability, and omnichannel, our online e-commerce business.

To capture all the knowledge transmitted in these workshops, the Scripps team created a comprehensive set of procurement guidelines for our buyers to use as a reference, as well as a convenient one-page summary of key questions they should ask vendors.