Saving Seafood

SFP unveils joint global seafood data project

November 18, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), together with four other NGOs, is pleased to announce that a new data tool for measuring seafood sustainability worldwide is now online and available for public use.

The Sustainable Seafood Data Tool is designed to offer users a clearer picture of environmental and social performance for global seafood production, along with a more detailed look at eight priority seafood sectors.

The Seafood Certification & Ratings Collaboration, a collective group of five NGOs—The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, SFP, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, the Marine Stewardship Council, and Fair Trade USA, worked together to produce the tool, which includes sustainability-related data from all five NGOs.

Information available through the tool includes rating and certification status where applicable, whether a fishery or seafood farm is improving through a targeted project, and whether or not sustainability improvements are needed in a specific fishery or seafood farm. Users can filter the data by wild or farmed, region, or country.

“SFP is working to ensure that by 2020 at least 75 percent of global production in key seafood sectors is sustainable or moving toward sustainability,” said Braddock Spear, SFP Systems Division director. “The collaboration is critical for this goal, because it harmonizes improvement advice for specific fisheries and aquaculture sources and aligns efforts to engage the industry from key and emerging markets in driving improvements.”

Certifying collective releases new tool looking at seafood’s environmental, social performance

October 24, 2019 — The Certifications and Ratings Collaboration, a collective of leading global seafood certification and ratings programs, recently released its Sustainable Seafood Data Tool this month. An online resource, the new tool offers a first-of-its-kind interactive overview of the environmental and social performance of worldwide seafood production, the collaboration said in a press release.

The analysis offered in the Sustainable Seafood Data Tool gives an overarching view of all global production and also drills down to give snapshots of wild and farmed seafood production. Each of the tool’s overviews provides details of the proportion of seafood production that has been certified or rated as meeting a high level of environmental performance; whether the area in question is improving through fishery or aquaculture improvement projects; if it needs improvement; or if its status is unknown.

The data within the resource can be filtered, the collaboration said, a capability that allows users to display similar overviews for particular regions or countries. Additionally, tool also allows for the combination of geographic filters with filters for wild capture, farmed, or both.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Lobster distributor Maine Coast receives “Excellent” score under SQF’s Food Safety Code

September 17, 2019 — York, Maine-based company Maine Coast has achieved certification under Safe Quality Food’s (SQF) Food Safety Code for Manufacturing, the North Atlantic lobster distributor announced on 17 September.

The company, which is known for its Lively Lobster, achieved a score of 97 and an “Excellent” status under SQF’s criteria, it confirmed in a press release. Maine Coast sources its lobster from Maine and Canadian fisheries that are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and recognized as producing “Good Alternative” catch by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

13 Environmental NGO’s Call For 100% Observer Coverage on Industrial Tuna Fishing Vessels

June 27, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — A total of 13 environmental NGO’s – including Fishwise, International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), Monterey Bay Aquarium, PEW Charitable Trusts and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership – are joining forces to request that Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO) that regulate tuna fishing in the Indian, Pacific, Atlantic and Southern Oceans, require observer coverage on all industrial tuna fishing vessels.

According to these NGOs, many tuna fisheries lack independent monitoring of fishing activity. This means that illegal fishing, misreported or unreported catch, as well as bycatch of endangered, threatened and protected species, goes unseen. However, RFMOs could change that by requiring that these tuna fisheries have 100% observer coverage – whether it be human or electric.

“100% observer coverage can and must happen soon,” reads a press release from the organizations. “There are no longer credible reasons to delay. We are committed to working together to make 100% observer coverage a reality.”

As part of their effort, the NGOs are seeking support from fisheries organizations, conservation organizations, and foundations. Consumers can also join the fight by signing a petition posted on The Action Network.

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

No longer enemies: Industry embracing partnerships with NGOs

April 15, 2019 — There was a time when many in the seafood industry openly disliked the Monterey Bay Aquarium. And not long ago, the aquarium’s Seafood Watch program didn’t think very highly of much commercially-produced seafood, such as the equivalent of the industry’s bread and butter – farmed salmon. As recently as 2013, Seafood Watch advised its millions of sustainability-conscious adherents to avoid farmed salmon altogether.

But a month ago, at the 2019 Seafood Expo North America event, Jennifer Kemmerly, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s director of global fisheries and aquaculture, stood on stage at a special assembly hosted by the Chilean Salmon Marketing Council and declared that previous era of combativeness to be over.

“There is no ‘us-versus-them’ mentality anymore,” she said. “There’s no time or room for that. The only way to get the job done is to work together.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Chicken of the Sea, Monterey Bay partnership yields first product offering

January 21, 2019 — Thai Union’s Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods (COSFF) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium have announced the first new product offering produced as part of the duo’s collaboration, which began last May.

The partnership’s SeaChange IGNITE program announced that it has upgraded the rating of Sri Lankan blue swimming crab to a “good alternative” recommendation. The species had previously been part of a fishery improvement project (FIP) aimed at improving the sustainability of the region’s fishing practices.

The SeaChange Ignite program was co-created by Chicken of the Sea and Monterey Bay to promote improvements throughout the supply chain as part of Thai Union’s sustainability initiative. There has been a commitment of $73 million towards the program, providing funding to 2025, with improvements in South-East Asia the primary focus.

Meanwhile, COSFF had initially joined the blue swimming crab FIP in July 2016, alongside its partner Taprobane Seafood Group. COSFF had, at the time, co-financed a harvest control strategy for the region’s crab fisheries.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

CALIFORNIA: Local fishermen and their catch take center stage at Monterey Bay restaurants

January 18, 2019 — In fishing ports across the country, it’s often difficult to find the local catch in local restaurants. Salmon, tuna, shrimp and cod are menu staples. While all delicious, they don’t often reflect seasonal fish local fishermen are taking back to the docks.

To counter this, a group of local organizations, businesses and fishermen in Monterey, Calif. are spotlighting the local catch and area chefs who bring them to plate with “Get Hooked,” a week-long initiative to recognize restaurants that provide the in-season harvest to their patrons.

“Commercial fishing is an icon of Monterey’s history, yet most consumers are unaware that 90 percent of the seafood we eat in the U.S. today is imported,” said Roger Burleigh, marketing and supply chain manager for the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust who’s spearheading the campaign. “We want to draw attention back to our local seafood bounty and the fishermen who catch it.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Sailors for the Sea takes new approach to seafood sustainability in Japan

December 5, 2018 — Ryan Bigelow, the senior program manager for Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, sees Japan as a country ripe for seafood sustainability ratings like those his program provides.

Japan’s population consumes a vast amount of seafood – collectively, the country has one of the largest seafood consumption footprints in the world (third behind China and the European Union) – and because of that, an improvement in the overall sustainability of the seafood sold and eaten in Japan can have a major impact.

Seafood Watch’s Buyers Guide, which gives seafood either a “best choice,” a “good alternative”, or “avoid” recommendation to seafood commonly found in supermarkets, is well-known in the United States. (Its ratings are color-coded green, yellow, and red, similar to the colors found in traffic signals.)

The guide is tailored to each U.S. state in order to give recommendations relevant to the seafood available there. They can be downloaded in PDF form on a single page and easily folded into a wallet or pocketbook.

But Bigelow openly acknowledges that Japanese consumers are not familiar with Seafood Watch’s guides.

“We don’t promote our program there,” he told SeafoodSource.

Still, for the fourth consecutive year, Bigelow attended the Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Symposium, which took place at Iino Hall and Conference Center on 1 November. Initiated in 2015, the annual event brings together Japanese professionals involved in the seafood industry to discuss issues surrounding smarter management of global fisheries resources. The all-day program featured a wide range of speakers and panelists.

“We attend the symposium to share our experiences advocating for more sustainable seafood in North America, both our successes and our failures,” Bigelow said. “Hopefully, that knowledge allows the sustainable seafood movement in Japan to grow more quickly and avoid some of the issues we encountered over the last 20 years.”

According to Bigelow, the closest parallel to the Seafood Watch Buyers Guide in Japan is the Sailors for the Sea Blue Seafood Guide.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Bayless, Moonen among 50 US chefs to sign Portland Pact on MSA

November 21, 2018 — American celebrity seafood restauranteurs Rick Bayless and Rick Moonen are among the first 50 chefs who have signed on to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s organized effort to “protect the strong conservation measures of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA)”.

Undercurrent News reported earlier how the Monterey Bay Aquarium was planning to start on Nov. 7, the day after the US mid-term election, rallying chefs to sign a document produced at a meeting in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 24. The so-called “Portland Pact for Sustainable Seafood” calls on “the new Congress to prioritize the long-term health of US fish stocks by protecting the strong conservation measures of the [MSA]”.

Commercial fishing groups that support Alaska Republican representative Don Young’s MSA reauthorization bill, HR 200, earlier expressed concern that the Monterey Bay Aquarium effort was an attack on the bill, which was passed by the US House of Representatives but requires Senate action before the expiration of the 115th Congress in December. The bill makes some of the most significant changes in MSA’s 42-year history, giving fishery regulatory bodies much more needed flexibility, say its champions.

But HR 200, which would have to be re-introduced in the 116th Congress if not successful in the next few weeks, already faces an uphill battle in the new House as it has enjoyed little support from the soon-to-be-in-charge Democrats.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium, which runs the Seafood Watch sustainability initiative, is one of a number of ocean conservation and environmental advocacy groups opposed to Young’s bill. The Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice, Oceana North America, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, Seafood Harvesters of America, Fortune Fish & Gourmet, and Santa Monica Seafood have also expressed opposition. They say it would undermine previously established fishing policies and endanger many valuable species.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Industry begins fight against Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Portland Pact

November 8, 2018 — The Monterey Bay Aquarium is preparing a campaign to recruit chefs from across the country to lobby the U.S. Congress to support measures that would hold fisheries accountable for overfishing and call for science-based decision making in the management process.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium advocates for greater sustainability in the seafood industry and operates the Seafood Watch initiative, which categorizes seafood items into one of three options: Best Choices, Good Alternatives, or Avoid. Its new initiative, called The Portland Pact, has not officially launched yet, said Erin Eastwood, an ocean policy program specialist for the organization, in a statement to SeafoodSource.

“The Portland Pact is not about the election or partisan politics,” she said. “It is about supporting strong policies to ensure the sustainability of U.S. seafood now and for the future.”

However, seafood industry leaders have already initiated a countermeasure, saying the Portland Pact is trying to undo steps proposed in H.R. 200, a bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed in July that would reauthorize and make changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA).

H.R. 200, which has not been passed in the Senate, will need to be re-filed when the new Congress reconvenes in January if it’s not signed into law by then. Ryan Bradley, director of Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, said he and other commercial fishing groups do not expect the lame-duck Congress to take up the MSA bill.

“We do not anticipate MSA reauthorization being a top priority for Congress, at least through the rest of this year,” Bradley told SeafoodSource.

The National Coalition for Fishing Communities, a commercial fisheries group, said the changes the bill makes to the MSA would enable regional councils to make decisions based on needs of the fishing community and changing ecological conditions.

In what it called an open letter to America’s chefs, the coalition called on chefs to consult with fishermen before agreeing to join the Portland Pact. It was signed by 15 industry leaders from across the country.

Read the full story at Seafood Source