Saving Seafood

New Organization To Provide Labour Certification for Fishing Vessels

January 5, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Developed by a diverse group of experts in fish harvesting with consultation from labour non-profit organisations, the FISH Standard for Crew is developing a voluntary, independent and accredited third-party certification program for labour practices on vessels in wild-capture fisheries. The name “FISH” represents the scope of the standard: Fairness, Integrity, Safety and Health.

The FISH Standard is designed to ensure that fish sold in markets, grocery stores and restaurants around the world is harvested by crews who are recruited and hired ethically, treated with respect on the vessel, paid properly, and have fair processes to address grievances. The FISH Standard certification will be open to wild-capture harvesters of all sizes.

FISH has an eleven-person Board of Directors, Chaired by Fridrik Fridriksson, Chief Human Resources Officer at Brim. FISH also has a nine-person Standards Oversight Committee (SOC) that developed and updates the audit standards. The FISH Standard draws on the experiences of individuals who helped develop international agreements on labour practices. Members of the FISH Board and SOC represent nearly every corner of the globe, bringing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences in fisheries and labour to the table.

“While most seafood companies work ethically and in line with various labour standards and protocols, both legal and voluntary, to ensure proper treatment of crews, there have been challenges and bad actors in the industry,” said Fridriksson. “Media reports have shined a spotlight on these issues and highlighted the fact that everyone harvesting seafood deserves fair and equitable treatment. The FISH Standard provides a credible, worldwide standard to ensure proper treatment of crews, like you see with third-party certifiers of food safety.”

The FISH Standard supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, which promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

“Governments, industry participants and civil society all have critical roles to play in ensuring that people are treated fairly and have safe and decent working conditions,” said FISH Board member, Matt Tinning, Director of Sustainability and Public Affairs for the At-sea Processors Association. “In tandem with other initiatives, we believe the development of a uniform labour standard that seafood buyers can trust is an important step, and has the potential to become a key component of global seafood assurance.”

The FISH Standard provides a needed independent, third-party global certification that makes fair labour a key component in any sourcing discussion. Look for more information on the 60-day public consultation period for the FISH Standard opening soon.

New 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines Reveal Americans of All Ages Need to Eat More Seafood

December 29, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The United States Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) highlight the benefits of eating seafood beginning at around age 6 months and continuing through all stages of life. The latest DGA recommend Americans of all ages—particularly kids and pregnant women—eat seafood at least twiceweekly, a goal that 94% of children and 80% of adults currently do not meet.

Versatile and convenient, seafood provides numerous health benefits throughout the entire life span. The DGA encourage that adults and children eat seafood 2-3 times each week for the following benefits:

  • Seafood consumed regularly during pregnancy can help with brain development in babies.
  • Seafood starting at around age 6 months provides critical nutrients like iron, omega-3s and choline that support brain development and immunity for babies and toddlers.  Additionally, starting seafood early can also help shape lifelong taste preferences, as well as healthful food choices.
  • For adults, seafood provides protein, calcium and vitamin D, which help strengthen bones and maintain muscle mass.

“The biggest takeaway for me from the updated Guidelines is to start serving seafood early,” said Rima Kleiner, MS, RD, registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute. “Learning to love seafood as a child is the gift that keeps on giving because of its lifetime of health benefits.  Now, we need to get to work inspiring people with delicious ideas for how to eat more fish.”

USDA recommends families start simple when working toward meeting the new Dietary Guidelines by merely keeping seafood on hand. “Seafood, such as canned salmon, tuna or crab and frozen fish, is quick and easy to prepare,” USDA advises, a point particularly relevant during the pandemic when grocery runs may be fewer and farther between.

Another resource for family-friendly seafood meal ideas is NFI’s award-winning Dish on Fish blog and the newly-launched free e-cookbook, “Everyday Seafood,” which contains 53 original, kid-approved and easy-to-cook seafood recipes. “Because of the pandemic, more Americans are eating at home and trying recipes and dishes they may not have made in the past, including fish,” said Kleiner. “We hope to build on this momentum by offering tips, tricks and recipes designed for all levels of home cooks, types of cooking appliances and taste preferences. There are so many paths by which people can meet the DGA recommendation of 2-3 seafood meals per week.”

National Fisheries Institute Statement on COVID-19 Recovery and Relief Legislation

December 22, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The House and Senate have passed a bipartisan $900 billion economic relief package to aid the nation’s pandemic recovery.

The final legislation allows forgivable loan funds to be used for covered business expenses that include accounts receivable debt.  NFI has consistently urged Congress to address this issue by classifying accounts receivable debt as a forgivable expense under the Paycheck Protection Program. We are pleased that this new package includes a provision that does just that.

The seafood industry, and the 1.7 million Americans jobs along its value chain, has been saddled with approximately $2.2 billion in outstanding debt since the beginning of the pandemic. The vast majority of that debt is held by small businesses that have struggled to survive.

The relief package illustrates that Members of Congress heard NFI’s message about our members’ supply chains and acted on the critical need for access to this funding.  This is a win for the seafood community that will provide badly needed relief to restaurants and the seafood processors and distributors that supply them.  NFI applauds Congress for this achievement.

NFI Announces Virtual Global Seafood Market Conference 2021

December 14, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

This week the National Fisheries Institute announced registration is open for the Virtual Global Seafood Market Conference 2021: Succeeding in the Ever-Changing Seafood Industry, February 1-5, 2021. The virtual GSMC will feature two hours of daily Plenary sessions with industry experts on the markets, economics and consumer insights in the age of COVID-19.

At the same time, NFI also unveiled a year-long GSMC Webinar Series which kicks off on January 13th with the popular GSMC Shrimp Panel. The overarching theme for GSMC Virtual and the Webinar Series is “Succeeding in the Ever-Changing Seafood Industry.”

NFI has bundled the virtual conference and the year-long webinar series and is offering it to members at a value. Non-members will also have the opportunity to register.

“We’ll kick off the Webinar Series with the popular GSMC Shrimp Panel on January 13th; and a few weeks later the virtual GSMC will feature popular experts like Duane Lenz of Cattlefax – and new voices like Bo Jackson of Jackson and Partners,” said NFI’s Senior Vice President, Judy Dashiell. “We will meet in person when it’s safe; but our members rely on GSMC information. We listened and have created a robust program that spans 2021. We are committed to delivering programming with excellent speakers, seamless technology and respect for people who are attending during their workday.”

In addition to this announcement, Dashiell noted that NFI will further expand its 2021 educational programs to include the Future Leader’s Program and the NFI Shrimp School; as well as introducing the NFI Salmon School; NFI Lobster School; and NFI Scallop School.

The Virtual GSMC 2021 and the GSMC Webinar Series are supported by Premiere Sponsor Diversified Communications and Gold Sponsors Baader North America Corporation, Datassential, Foa & Son, IRI, Lineage Logistics, Los Angeles Cold Storage, Rabobank, Urner Barry, Wells Fargo Bank, and Windward Strategies LLC.

Seafood industry decision-makers have trusted GSMC analysis for a decade and in 2021 they’ll have the opportunity to absorb even more of that knowledge without leaving home.

Register by January 7 2021 to receive the Member Early Bird rate; and access the GSMC Shrimp Panel Webinar on January 13th. To register, contact Suzanne Low at slow@nfi.org. And find more information in this video.

National Fisheries Institute Statement on Planned Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine

December 2, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices announced their recommendations for the prioritized allocation of initial supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The National Fisheries Institute recognizes the hard work being done by these public health professionals and commends them on their decision to provide the vital vaccine initially to healthcare workers.

Further, we applaud the Committee’s recognition that those harvesting our fish and processing and distributing our seafood are essential and will be considered in the next phase of vaccine distribution.

Frontline seafood workers should rightfully be near the front of the line for vaccines. All Americans depend on these women and men to harvest and process healthy foods. As the federal agencies and state Governors develop their vaccine plans, they should protect those who labor to feed America’s families during this pandemic. Governments need to move from calling these folks heroes to protecting them with vaccines.

NFI moves GSMC 2021 virtual, with in-person event still planned in May

November 24, 2020 — The National Fisheries Institute (NFI), the U.S. seafood industry’s foremost trade group, has announced its 2021 Global Seafood Market Conference (GSMC) will take place online from 1 to 5 February.

The conference, which offers seafood marketplace data to NFI members and doubles as the NFI’s annual meeting, which was originally scheduled to take place in Coronado, California, U.S.A. in January. In July 2020, NFI announced it would be moving the conference to 23 to 28 May, 2021, as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Longtime seafood industry veteran Stephen Thompson dead at 67

November 17, 2020 — Longtime seafood industry veteran and Harbor Seafood Director of Quality Assurance Stephen Thompson passed away on 15 November at the age of 67.

Thompson was a long-time member of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), joining the association 35 years ago, and served as a leader on the technical committee. He was also a member of the NFI Crab Council representing Harbor Seafood, and served on the board of directors of the Seafood Industry Research Fund.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

‘Dark cloud of uncertainty’: Seafood executives, fishermen give dire warning against bill banning fishing in huge swath of federal waters

November 16, 2020 — Leaders from all segments of the US seafood industry are opposing an ocean climate bill that would create massive Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) prohibiting commercial fishing across at least 30 percent of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by 2030.

On Monday 800 members of the seafood industry, including Trident Seafoods CEO Joe Bundrant, Silver Bay Seafoods CEO Cora Campbell, Arctic Storm Management CEO Doug Christensen, Lund’s Fisheries President Wayne Reichle, Fortune International President & CEO Sean O’Scannlain and dozens of associations and independent fishermen, signed off on a letter sent to Democratic Arizona Rep. Raul M. Grijalva that said the legislation “puts the viability of our industry under a second dark cloud of uncertainty, for no discernable reason attached to meaningful improvements in conservation outcomes.”

Grijalva introduced the 300-page package of legislation to invest in ocean-based energy solutions, including offshore wind.

“This bill appears to ignore that expertise and process and just walls off parts of the ocean to fishing,” said John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), who also signed the letter.

Read the full story at IntraFish

National Fisheries Institute Statement on the Passing of Stephen Thompson

November 16, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The seafood community has lost a technical giant and brilliant smile.  Stephen Thompson was a seafood veteran who could solve any regulation implementation or food safety problem … and do it with wit and good-natured spirit showing through his iconic moustache.  He will be sorely missed.

Stephen first joined the National Fisheries Institute 35 years ago.  He was a leader of the association’s Technical Committee and most recently proudly represented Harbor Seafood on the NFI Crab Council.  Stephen also served on the Seafood Industry Research Fund’s board of directors.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his colleagues, and everyone who was blessed to have known Stephen.

Huge Seafood Coalition Opposes Natural Resources Bill that Undercuts Sustainability Successes

November 16, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Ahead of tomorrow’s House Natural Resources Committee hearing on legislation entitled “Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act,” a coalition of more than 800 members of the seafood community say the proposed bill is not backed by science and has the potential to do more harm than good.

“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is among the world’s best fishery managers,” said NFI President John Connelly. “This bill appears to ignore that expertise and process and just walls off parts of the ocean to fishing.  It disregards generations of science-based work and community consensus. Drawing arbitrary lines on a map is not science, it’s politics.  Lines on a map don’t actually promote sustainability but they can harm livelihoods that depend on real sustainability work.”

The proposal calls for massive Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that would prohibit all commercial fishing activity across at least 30 percent of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by 2030.

“The seafood community is committed to the conversation about marine conservation and fisheries management.  Cute slogans like ‘30 by 30’ are not part of a reasonable or responsible dialogue,” said Connelly.

The effort ignores the Magnuson-Stevens Act’s success in providing rigorous, science-based framework for area-based closures designed to help rebuild specific stocks. Instead, it relies on total, indefinite closures to commercial fishing in an indiscriminately chosen percentage of the ocean, with no stakeholder input.

“Fisheries management must be science-based and account for the communities that provide us our food.  The coalition signers want to know; when will proponents of this idea address the concerns of the more than 700,000 men and women who depend on domestic commercial harvesting to provide for their families?  ” asked Connelly.

The Committee hearing is Tuesday, November 17, at 12:00 PM Eastern.