Bad News for Red Lobster: Ocean Running Out of Fish

The Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday that mega-restaurant heavy Darden Restaurants, which owns Red Lobster, Season's 52, Capital Grille, and Olive Garden, is in deep fish poo: There just isn't enough seafood left in the ocean to supply this massive chain with the lobsters, cod fillets, and shrimp they need. Darden...

By Gail Shepherd

May 13, 2009

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The Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday that mega-restaurant heavy Darden Restaurants, which owns Red Lobster, Season's 52, Capital Grille, and Olive Garden, is in deep fish poo: There just isn't enough seafood left in the ocean to supply this massive chain with the lobsters, cod fillets, and shrimp they need. Darden purchases about $800 million in seafood annually, and while the corporation is thriving and certainly has the bucks, it may have a hard time spending them.

Darden has turned to fish farms in recent years for shrimp, tilapia, and catfish, and has even founded a certifying body to ensure that the farms they buy from are not damaging the environment. Critics contend, of course, that letting Darden take a big role in certifying is like letting the fox guard the henhouse. Read the full story here.

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