March 6, 2017 — The following has been released by FishWise:
FishWise announced today a new partnership with Portland, Maine-based frozen seafood supplier North Atlantic, Inc. (NAI) and its Indonesian subsidiary, Bali Seafood International (BSI). This partnership aims to further advance and communicate NAI/BSI’s commitment to sustainable and socially responsible seafood while exploring new opportunities to expand their influence in the industry.
Recognizing the importance of both sustainable fisheries and communities, NAI/BSI and its partners have invested in a new initiative to build infrastructure in the Lesser Sunda region of Indonesia that will integrate numerous fishing support services, including cold chain technologies, fisheries management, and education. Their new fishery community centers are expected to generate improvements in food safety and waste, traceability, and socioeconomic indicators, alongside environmental gains. BSI will pay premiums to fishers operating through the community centers, incentivizing artisanal fishermen to adopt more responsible practices.
NAI and BSI are seeking to share this innovative commercially-sponsored fishery management model with industry and broader sustainability stakeholders given its potential value in linking artisanal fishermen directly to seafood markets and improving livelihoods throughout fishing communities. This work builds on NAI’s engagement in fishery improvement projects and traceability, as well as its long-term partnerships with retailers to direct supply chains and address critical responsible harvesting practices.
“North Atlantic has been a trusted vendor to our retail partners for many years and we are excited to begin working with them more formally,” said William Wall, FishWise Distributor Division Director. “We at FishWise are always aiming to create and promote progressive sustainability leaders. North Atlantic’s ambition is unique — they are taking direct responsibility for the wellbeing of the community in which they operate and are developing mechanisms for lasting change, which we’re keen to communicate given the potential for these efforts to serve as a model for other companies.”