Saving Seafood

New report combines data of five leading sustainability NGOs for first time

June 13, 2019 — A new report released during the 2019 SeaWeb Seafood Summit, (SWSS19) has united data from five of the leading seafood sustainability NGOs, giving a comprehensive look at the sustainability of the world’s oceans.

“Sustainable Seafood: A Global Benchmark” has brought together the data and expertise of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Fair Trade USA, Marine Stewardship Council, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. Together, the collective data has formed a report looking at the sustainability of different seafood sectors, and the priorities that should be focused on moving forward.

The report is thanks to the Seafood Certification and Ratings Collaboration, which launched in 2015.

“Through the collaboration, we aim to increase our impact by coordinating our tools and leveraging our extensive data on the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture,” the report said.

The report, and the compiling of the data of the various NGOs, has been a goal of the collaboration and regular updated analysis are planned in the future.

“This first edition is intended as a benchmark, illustrating the current level of performance and identifying the improvements needed going forward,” the report said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Human rights groups criticize MSC’s new Chain of Custody Standard

June 11, 2019 — Thirteen human rights and environmental groups have released a statement criticizing the effectiveness of the Marine Stewardship Council’s new Chain of Custody Standard.

The 13 groups – including Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, Freedom Fund, the International Labor Rights Forum, and more – have criticized the program’s new standard, saying that the standards will not be effective enough to identify and protect seafood workers from labor rights violations and abuse. The groups, which are a part of the Thai Seafood Working Group, have a number of concerns about the standard.

A key concern, according to the joint statement, is the classification of countries into “low-risk” and “high-risk” categories, with due diligence in certification required only in “high-risk” countries.

“The way that MSC defines the criteria for risk will allow seafood operations that may have serious labor abuses – such as processing and shrimp-peeling facilities – to be certified without any labor due diligence simply because they are in countries classified as low risk,” ILRF Executive Director Judy Gearhart said in a release.

Another point of criticism is the process on-shore operators – like processing facilities – will need to undergo to obtain certification. The MSC standard is for companies to undergo one of three labor audits recognized by the organization: Amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative, SEDEX SMETA, or Social Accountability International’s SA8000.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC Recommends Certification for Gulf of Mexico Menhaden Fishery

June 6, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Gulf of Mexico menhaden purse seine fishery was recommened by independent certification body SAI Global for certification against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) fisheries standard.

The two participants that requested to be evaluated for MSC certification are Omega Protein and Daybrook Fisheries. Omega Protein was recommended for MSC certification as an Atlantic menhaden fishery back in March.

“The recommendation for MSC certification for our Gulf of Mexico operations is a testament to the hard work we’ve put in over many years to conduct responsible operations,” said Bret Scholtes, CEO of Omega Protein. “The fact that both of the nation’s menhaden fisheries have now been recommended for MSC certification should assure customers and the public alike that our products meet the highest standards of sustainability.”

Fisheries must score a minimum of 60 out of 100 in 28 performance indicators in three categories; sustainability of the stock, efforts to minimize environmental impacts and effective management, to earn certification.

In its recommendation, SAI Global highlighted the menhaden fishery for its extensive surveys, monitoring for menhaden stock and the ecosystem, strong management plan and a robust governance and policy framework.

“Sustainable fishing is important for both the environment and for the future of our business,” said Scott Herbert, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Daybrook Fisheries. “MSC certification will help this fishery meet the demand for sustainable products, while continuing to be an economic engine here for years to come.”

A December 2018 benchmark stock assesment of the Gulf menhaden saw that the population is healthy and managed sustainably. The stock faced no overfishing as well.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery gets MSC recommendation

June 5, 2019 — The Gulf of Mexico menhaden purse seine fishery has been recommended for certification against Marine Stewardship Council standards by SAI Global, Omega Protein announced 4 June.

The recommendation means that both U.S. menhaden fisheries – Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico – have gained recommendation for MSC certification. Omega Protein and Daybrook Fisheries, the two companies that participate in the Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery, requested the evaluation in 2017.

“The recommendation for MSC certification for our Gulf of Mexico operations is a testament to the hard work we’ve put in over many years to conduct responsible operations,” Omega Protein CEO Bret Scholtes said in a release. “The fact that both of the nation’s menhaden fisheries have now been recommended for MSC certification should assure customers and the public alike that our products meet the highest standards of sustainability.”

The Atlantic fishery was recommended for certification back in December, also from SAI Global.

The certification process hasn’t been without objections from competing groups such as recreational fishermen, whale watchers, and environmental nonprofits. The Atlantic fishery, in particular, has seen recreational groups formally object to the fishery gaining MSC certification.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery recommended for MSC; Atlantic hung up

June 5, 2019  — Now both of the US’ big purse seine menhaden fisheries have been recommended for certification by the Marine Stewardship Council, though how fast harvesters and processors are able to start carrying the label remains to be seen.

Omega Protein and Daybrook Fisheries, on Tuesday, announced that the menhaden fishery in the Gulf of Mexico has been recommended for MSC by the independent certification body SAI Global. Stakeholders now have 15 working days to submit formal objections to an independent adjudicator.

Houston, Texas-based Omega Protein, acquired by Canada’s Cooke in late 2017, and Daybrook, an Empire, Louisiana-based wholly owned subsidiary of South Africa’s Oceana Group, both source menhaden from the gulf and requested MSC certification in June 2017.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

MSC assessment of OPAGAC fisheries underway

June 4, 2019 — The Organization of Associated Producers of Large Freezer Tuna Freezers (OPAGAC) has contracted with certification body Lloyd’s Register to evaluate its tuna-fishing operations, a step forward in the organization’s push to achieve Marine Stewardship Council certification.

OPAGAC’s fleet operates in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, fishing 12 different stocks of tuna, including yellowfin, skipjack, and bigeye. Collectively, it lands 380,000 metric tons of tuna per year, or 8 percent of the annual global catch.

“This is the largest tuna fleet in the world to apply for MSC certification on this scale which shows OPAGAC’s commitment to sustainable practice and fisheries management,” Lloyd´s Register Fisheries Manager Polly Burns said in a press release.

OPAGAC created a fishery improvement project in 2016 in collaboration with WWF, covering the entirety of its fishery. As part of the set-up of the FIP, OPAGAC contracted with consultancy MRAG to conduct a pre-assessment of the fishery. At the time, OPAGAC said it would pursue MSC certification within five years, by 2021.

“Through the important progress in the fishery improvement projects and now with the decision to enter it fisheries in three oceans for assessment, is contributing to accelerating change in the global tuna fishing sector,” MSC Director for Spain and Portugal Laura Rodríguez Zugasti said. “It is a great satisfaction for the MSC office in Spain that the Spanish tuna fishing fleet assumes leadership on the global action for sustainable fishing.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

McDonald’s rolls out Canada-wide product featuring MSC-certified haddock

May 14, 2019 — After a successful pilot in Atlantic Canada last summer, McDonald’s Canada is rolling out a new Fish & Chips meal at its restaurants throughout the country.

The fish used in the meals is Marine Stewardship Council-certified haddock, supplied by High Liner Foods in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. McDonald’s restaurants expect to use around 260,000 pounds of Atlantic haddock for the Fish & Chips during the limited-time offer, McDonald’s Canada said in a press release.

The haddock is caught off of Nova Scotia and packed in Atlantic Canada.

The new limited-time meal includes two pieces of fish coated with a crunchy batter and served with French fries and tartar dipping sauce.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Omega Protein comes out swinging as magazine questions MSC’s integrity

May 14, 2019 — US firm Omega Protein has come out fighting following a column, published in Sport Fishing Magazine, made claims of impropriety in the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process of the Atlantic menhaden fishery.

In the editorial, Sport Fishing Magazine “impugns the integrity of both the [MSC] and the Atlantic menhaden fishery,” said Omega Protein. In response to the recommendation by the independent auditor that the menhaden fishery be MSC certified, editor Doug Olander made accusations of impropriety rather than critiquing the fishery, the independent assessment, or the MSC process on its merits, it said.

“MSC certification has always been based on objective criteria, which are evaluated by independent, third-party auditors,” the company said. “The process is entirely transparent, publicly available and easily accessible to [the magazine’s editor, Doug] Olander. If a fishery doesn’t score high enough on the assessment, it isn’t certified. Fisheries can be denied certification, and several fisheries have lost their certification for not maintaining standards.”

Olander wrote that Omega Protein was “buying its way to public respectability”, and looking to “wrap itself in a cloak of respectability by claiming it’s a certified sustainable fishery”. In fact, said Omega Protein, as made clear in the report compiled by the independent auditors, the menhaden fishery does meet the criteria for MSC certification.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

US squid catchers turn to innovation, MSC in push to boost consumption

May 13, 2019 — The US’ two largest squid catchers and suppliers are taking a similar tack when it comes to plans to boost consumption of their species: product innovation at home targeted at millennials, and the recent Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of their fisheries to open up new markets, particularly in Europe.

The companies –Narragansett, Rhode Island-based The Town Dock and Cape May, New Jersey-based Lund’s Fisheries — recently teamed up to receive MSC approval for the US Northwest northern shortfin squid (Illex Illecebrosus) fishery. This comes nearly a year after obtaining the MSC’s stamp for the US Northeast longfin inshore squid (Loligo pealeii) bottom trawl fishery last year, the world’s first MSC certification for a squid species. The two firms also catch California market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens) and harvest or procure a wide range of other squid and fish species.

Americans don’t consume a lot of squids — in 2015, the average US consumer ate around four ounces per year, roughly equivalent to a serving of fried calamari rings. That’s where the opportunity lies, Jeff Reichle, Lund’s president, told Undercurrent News.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Atlantic Canadian herring fisheries lose sustainability label

May 7, 2019 — All three Marine Stewardship Council-certified herring fisheries in Atlantic Canada have lost their MSC-sustainability certification as the forage fish continues to struggle.

Last week, the Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia voluntarily suspended its MSC certification on behalf of the 10 companies that operate an 11-vessel fleet of herring purse seiners primarily out of southwestern Nova Scotia.

The suspension means product can no longer be sold with the MSC blue check mark, which assures consumers the fisheries are sustainably managed.

The Seafood Producers Association did not respond to a request for comment on its decision to suspend its MSC certification.

In 2015, herring fisheries in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia were the first gillnet herring fisheries in the world to achieve the certification.

Read the full story at Yahoo News