Saving Seafood

High Liner Foods joins Ocean Disclosure Project

February 11, 2020 — The following was released by the Ocean Disclosure Project:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce that High Liner Foods is now participating in the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) and is the first North American company to disclose farmed seafood sourcing information in the ODP’s 2019 annual reporting.

“SFP is excited to see High Liner Foods, one of our longest-standing partners, further seafood transparency and continue to demonstrate responsible sourcing through participation in the Ocean Disclosure Project,” said Sam Grimley, deputy director of the Programs Division at SFP.

SFP started the ODP in 2015 to provide a valuable information resource for responsible investors, seafood consumers, and others interested in sustainable seafood. To date, 23 other companies in Europe, North America, and Australia have participated.

“Partnering with SFP since 2010, High Liner Foods is pleased to participate in the ODP as part of our continued commitment to sustainability, responsibility, and transparency,” said Bill Dimento, vice president for corporate sustainability and government affairs at High Liner Foods. “We are proud to be the first North American company to disclose farmed seafood sourcing information in the ODP’s annual report and of the role High Liner Foods continues to play in driving global improvements in wild fisheries and aquaculture, ultimately leading to sustainable seafood for all to enjoy.”

High Liner Foods’ long-standing commitment to sustainable seafood sourcing has included participated and coordination of several key sustainability projects over the years, including a whitefish fishery improvement project (FIP) in the Barents Sea that resulted in dramatic improvements in stock levels.

High Liner Foods’ full profile can be viewed at: https://www.oceandisclosureproject.org/companies/high-liner

GSSI’s Accomplishments, Challenges Take Center Stage at SeaWeb Seafood Summit Panel

SEATTLE (Saving Seafood) – June 7, 2017 – The Global Seafood Sustainability Initiative (GSSI) was established in 2013 as a collective, non-competitive approach for industry, NGOs, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and government agencies to address growing confusion in the seafood certification landscape. Over the last four years, they have achieved considerable success in addressing this goal.

At Tuesday’s SeaWeb Seafood Summit panel, “GSSI – Benchmarking and the Certification Landscape,” members of the GSSI Steering Board (Bill DiMento, High Liner Foods; Lesley Sander, Sodexo; Ron Rogness, American Seafoods; Andrea Weber, METRO AG; and Herman Wisse, GSSI Program Director) shared their perspectives on the initiative’s importance, the extent to which the GSSI has already been recognized, and the GSSI’s future.

The GSSI’s most important achievement is the completion of the Global Benchmark Tool in October 2015. This was designed and implemented through broad participation and consultation; engaging stakeholders, NGOs, scientists, managers, harvesters, seafood suppliers, and consumers; and creating a public/private partnership with FAO. Through this unique relationship with FAO, the Benchmarking Tool has been developed in close conformance to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

Success to date can be measured in two ways: use of the Benchmarking Tool to recognize existing certification schemes, and adoption of the GSSI standard by producers, processors, suppliers, and consumers. Three certification schemes have already successfully completed the benchmarking process: the Marine Stewardship Council, Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM), and Iceland RFM. Additionally, two aquaculture certification schemes are currently being benchmarked. Thus, use of the Benchmarking Tool is already demonstrating noteworthy success.

Adoption and recognition of the GSSI standard is also showing considerable success. Large and small organizations in all sectors are joining the initiative with an increasing number of substantive commitments to source seafood under the GSSI hallmark. The recently announced commitment by the organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to endorse the GSSI standard for seafood served during the games is a significant endorsement.

The panel session was very well attended, as panelists communicated the GSSI concept, the remarkable amount of work that has been done to develop and implement the Benchmarking Tool, and its successful application. Panelists also shared their enthusiasm for GSSI, and the potential for GSSI to promote more sustainable seafood across the industry.

SFP initiative aims for 75 percent sustainable seafood globally

June 6, 2017 — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership announced on Monday, 5 June at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., the launch of an initiative aimed achieving the goal of seeing 75 percent of the world’s seafood sourced sustainably or improving toward sustainability by 2020.

At its launch announcement at the summit, SFP, a nonprofit dedicated reducing the environmental and social impacts of fishing and fish farming , called on the seafood industry at large to consider industry-based improvement projects and similar pre-competitive collaborations to help achieve the goal.

“Although the objectives of Target 75 may seem ambitious, our initiative is only calling for our partners and their suppliers to continue with activities that are already underway, and for some others to get on board,” SFP said in its launch statement. “If companies are prepared to assess their supply chains, identify the fisheries and aquaculture regions that need improving, and mobilize their suppliers to launch fishery and aquaculture improvement projects (FIPs and AIPs), it will be possible to meet the target.

Bill DiMento, High Liner Foods’ Vice President of Quality Assurance, Sustainability initiatives, and Government Affairs said his company “loves the goal and will support the effort.”

“Setting goals like this is certainly ambitious but it’s needed to set the pace for the rest of the world,” he said.

SFP said it would use either Marine Stewardship Council certification or a “Green” rating from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program to define a fishery as “sustainable.” To be defined as “improving,” a fishery must have a grade of “C” or higher as ranked by SFP’s FIP evaluation tool.

“Our two programs are complementary,” Brian Perkins, the North American regional director of the Marine Stewardship Council, said at the SeaWeb press conference. “We have same goal in mind, which is 100 percent sustainable fisheries worldwide. And at MSC, our goal is 20 percent of world fisheries engaged in our by 2020. If we both charge at the goals, we might actually get there.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source