Saving Seafood

Squid industry calls for stronger global fisheries management

October 14, 2026 — Global squid industry leaders are calling for stronger international fisheries management, improved scientific cooperation, and greater traceability as fishing activity and market demand continue to grow.

Representatives from fishing fleets, seafood processors, and regional advisory groups discussed the future of global squid fisheries during a panel at CONXEMAR 2026 in Vigo, Spain, highlighting gaps in stock assessments, international governance, and efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

Squid fisheries supply major international seafood markets and processing industries, particularly in Europe, but many operate across national boundaries and international waters, complicating management and enforcement.

Panelists pointed to uncontrolled fishing effort near exclusive economic zones, limited scientific data, and inconsistent oversight as challenges facing the sector.

Much of the discussion centered on the South Pacific jumbo flying squid fishery, where the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) has been working to improve scientific assessments. At a recent scientific meeting, however, member countries stopped short of completing a full stock-assessment framework or establishing hard catch limits for the fishery.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

MSC begins 60-day consultation on improvements to its Fisheries Program

October 8, 2026 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is seeking feedback on proposed revisions to its Fisheries Program. The revisions are designed to maintain the rigour of the MSC’s environmental sustainability requirements, whilst making them clearer and more practical to apply during assessments.

The public consultation begins on Thursday, 8 October and will remain open for feedback until Tuesday, 8 December. All stakeholders can review the proposed revisions and provide feedback through an online survey.

The MSC Fisheries Standard sets the leading benchmark for environmentally sustainable fishing globally and it is vital that its requirements drive real and lasting progress towards ending overfishing and protecting biodiversity. The proposals include clarifying requirements, removing undue complexity, and streamlining processes to ensure assessment outcomes are more consistent.

Key revisions include:

  • Endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species: More appropriate classifications based on conservation status, and more rigorous assessment of fisheries’ impacts on ETP species.
  • Independent observation: Requirements for human or electronic observation revised to align with widely used global best practice, based on independent analysis.
  • Traceability requirements: Strengthening the traceability of certified seafood throughout the supply chain.

Other revisions relate to evaluating the accuracy of information provided in assessments, the requirements for the adoption of harvest control strategies in non-tuna fisheries, refining scoring for fisheries that target the same stock, and clarifying how fisheries with limited data should be assessed.

The revisions have been developed through collaboration between the MSC, fishery assessors, and representatives from fisheries and eNGOs. Three dedicated panels have been created to propose changes to requirements, test the proposals, and analyse their impacts. A comprehensive feedback system between the panels will ensure the proposed changes deliver the intended sustainability outcomes on the water and can be consistently applied.

The MSC Fisheries Standard v3.1, Fisheries Certification Process v3.1, and Fisheries Standard Toolbox v1.2 are all included in the review. There will be an additional 30-day public consultation on the final proposals, which is expected to take place in April 2027. Version 4 of the Standard is expected to be published in September 2027 and will come into effect six months after the publication date.

Amanda Stern-Pirlot, MSC’s Chief Standards Officer said: “The MSC highly values input from its stakeholders to help shape the Fisheries Standard.  We encourage anyone with an interest in or knowledge of the Standard to take part in the consultation. We have introduced new tools to make participation in the consultation easier, and local MSC representatives are ready to help to make sure all input is heard. This input is vital to ensure the Standard and certification scheme continue to reflect widely adopted global best practice and can be efficiently and consistently applied.”

Seafood industry pilot study reinforces importance of standards to traceable, responsible supply chains

June 24, 2021 — A recent seafood industry traceability pilot study conducted by GS1 US supports the value of universal standards to help seafood companies efficiently and effectively exchange supply chain data and improve end-to-end visibility.

The study was conducted in collaboration with the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Beaver Street Fisheries, Bumble Bee Seafoods, Chicken of the Sea, FoodLogiQ, IBM Food Trust, Insite Solutions/Norpac, ripe.io, SAP, Walmart, and Wholechain. It follows a similar 2020 prototype that confirmed traceability solutions from FoodLogiQ, IBM Food Trust, ripe.io and SAP can operate, transmit, and exchange product data throughout a supply chain when GS1 Standards are applied.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MarinTrust updates guidance for latest version of its Chain of Custody certification

May 11, 2021 — MarinTrust, the global marine ingredient standard for responsible supply (formerly IFFO RS), released updated guidance on 10 May for its Chain of Custody (CoC) Version 2 standard, which became effective as of 30 November, 2020.

In a press release, MarinTrust said it was extending the transition period “set up to help certification bodies as well as all facilities certified under the former version (known as v1.1), understand how the revised MarinTrust Chain of Custody Standard would affect their business.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Food Safety: Seafood links with traceability and transparency

April 16, 2021 — Demand for seafood at the retail grocery level has soared during the pandemic, as stay-at-home chefs desperate for variety realize that they really can cook fish at home —it’s not a restaurant-only proposition.

That increase in demand has shown a spotlight on three aspects of the seafood industry that are closely related: food safety, traceability and transparency.

All three are at the top of the agenda for the seafood industry in Norway, said Anne-Kristine Øen, US director of the Norwegian Seafood Council.

It’s hard to talk about one, she said, without bringing in the others.

“The topics are strongly interconnected in the sense that the consumer is increasingly aware of the origin of the food on their plate, and they want to be able to find out its journey and origin story. Consumers depend on trustworthy and easily accessible sources of information.”

The Norwegian seafood industry, many of whose products wind up in US grocery stores, enjoy the support of strong systems that secure tight control quality and safety, Øen said. The Norwegian system for catch information, the internal control systems and HACCP plans for the various production plants all provide details on the fish, its journey and the sustainability efforts that were in place to raise and catch the fish.

Read the full story at Supermarket Perimeter

GSA spotlights “Worker Voice” in fight to ensure fair labor standards

December 14, 2020 — A new white paper commissioned by Global Seafood Assurances (GSA) is offering a comprehensive look at the tools and resources that exist to ensure social welfare on board the world’s fishing vessels.

The paper, Worker Voice on Fishing Vessels, documents the initiatives, organizations, and projects available around the world that offer fishing crews a means to voice concerns, have influence over matters that affect them in the workplace, and have access to third party advice and grievance mechanisms for remediation. It also identifies common definitions and terms used to describe these concepts.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Groundbreaking new global traceability standards met with rapid industry support

November 4, 2020 — Traceable and reliable seafood is crucial in helping businesses and stakeholders across the seafood sector retain their competitive edge in today’s industry. Companies participating in the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) – and the committee of seafood stakeholders steering it – know this well.

Launched in April 2017, GDST was established as a business-to-business forum with the core mandate of crafting a set of industry-wide traceability standards for seafood that would both enable interoperability as well as increase verifiability of products across sector systems.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

National Fisheries Institute Statement on FDA Food Traceability Proposed Rule

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

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its proposed rule for traceability and recordkeeping, along with a draft “Food Traceability List” that catalogues which products would be subject to the requirements.

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) supports efforts to both modernize and advance food safety. The seafood community has been at the forefront of efforts to safeguard our safe and wholesome products as an early adapter of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system. This year, as the FDA moves towards an evolution in traceability, NFI’s members have proactively explored technologically enabled traceability through a Blockchain pilot to test its viability in a real seafood value chain.

We are currently reviewing the proposed rule and draft “Food Traceability List.” And as with any new regulatory structure, we are interested in ensuring there are no duplicative systems that would complicate the new traceability parameters.

An initial review of the draft “Food Traceability List,” from a seafood perspective, suggests a “one size fits all” approach; which may not be warranted. Just like with HACCP and other modern food safety efforts, a focus on a few critical points or products is a better use of energy and resources.

We are hopeful this proposal will help begin an orderly process that integrates modern supply chain traceability systems within a technologically advanced regulatory structure.

For signatories to Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration, progress is tangible

March 19, 2020 — Seafood companies across the tuna supply chain are making strides toward meeting the four commitments that are part of the Tuna 2020 Traceability Declaration.

The Global Tuna Alliance – a consortium of companies seeking to improve the tuna supply chain – surveyed the 66 companies that signed the declaration in 2017 to assess their progress, compiling the results in a report to be released soon. About two-thirds of companies responded.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

First version of comprehensive data standards for seafood traceability released

March 17, 2020 — Dozens of methods of documenting seafood traceability – and hundreds of individual systems –  have emerged in recent years as companies across the seafood supply chain and the technology vendors that serve them seek to demonstrate the sustainable, legal origins of their products.

Rarely can those systems seamlessly interact with each other or share data, a gap that poses an ever-larger problem as regulators draft new traceability laws and consumers demand more information about the origin of their food.

Read the full story at Seafood Source