thoughts about doing something similar here in Charleston? I’m not juiced into the local charter fleet(s), but what about a grass roots letter of intent to boycott? effective tool or not far reaching enough?
Recreational Fishing Alliance
Contact: Jim Hutchinson, Jr. / 888-564-6732 For Immediate Release
September 15, 2011
NC FISHERMEN ENCOURAGE WALMART BOYCOTT
RFA Praises Captains For Pressing Walton Family’s Corporate Ethics
The North Carolina Watermen United (NCWU) this week sent a letter to the Global Ethics Office at Walmart informing them of the group’s intention to boycott the store immediately. The NCWU announcement comes as a result of the Recreational Fishing Alliance’s (RFA) call for a nationwide Walmart boycott by U.S. fishermen in light of the corporation’s support of catch shares and marine reserves.
“By using millions of dollars in funds and working hand-in-hand with conservation agencies to influence policies that ensure that U.S. fishermen and their harvest are regulated and listed on the world commodities market by a Catch Shares system and Limited Access Licenses (probably bought by large world corporations) to harvest fish, the Walton Family Foundation violates the Walmart Ethic - Restrictive Trade Practice,” said NCWU president Britton Shackelford. Co-signed by the entire NCWU Board of Directors, the letter references Walmart’s own corporate policy which states, “we will not participate in any activity intended to restrain trade, or promote a refusal to conduct business with customers, members, or suppliers, in any country where such a refusal would be a violation of applicable law.”
According to RFA executive director Jim Donofrio, catch shares and blanket marine reserves are clearly in opposition to Walmart’s stated corporate ethic. "By handing over millions of dollars in support to groups like Ocean Conservancy and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to privatize our coastal fisheries and close down the oceans, the Walton Family Foundation is contributing