Saving Seafood

US importer launches Indonesian crab traceability tool

March 21, 2017 — Miami, US-based blue swimming crab firm Blue Star Foods has announced it is launching a cloud-based fisheries data collection platform for a fishery in Indonesia.

The mobile-based iniative is being undertaken in partnership with Wilderness Markets. It integrates three components in an effort to provide a completely traceable supply chain.

A geospatial boat tracking system provides “on the water” data for fishing duration, location and timing. Provided by Pelagic Data Systems, these units are “uniquely suited for artisanal vessel tracking”, it said.

A proprietary mobile phone-based system aggregates landings data and is linked to a QR code system, which allows buyers-consumers to trace back product information in an integrated platform.

The QR code provides users with batch and product information, including fisher data, vessel name and landing site in compliance with landing regulations.

Dave Solomon, CEO of Pelagic Data Systems, said: “we are excited to work with Blue Star to bring transparency with a positive social and environmental impact to their supply chain in Indonesia”.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Pelagic Data Systems Announced as SeaWeb Seafood Champion Finalist

BOSTON — March 20, 2017 — The following was released by Pelagic Data Systems:

Pelagic Data Systems (PDS) is one of four finalists for the 2017 Seafood Champion Award for Innovation, SeaWeb announced today. A panel of seafood sustainability experts from industry and nonprofit organizations based in Asia, Europe and North America recognized the organization for its vessel-tracking technology, based on an affordable, solar-powered data collection device for small vessels. The technology has helped combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Gabon, Mexico, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Peru, Philippines, Thailand and the U.S.

“We are incredibly honored to be a Seafood Champion finalist among such great and pioneering individuals and organizations,” said Dave Solomon, PDS CEO. “The innovation that has taken place in the seafood sector in recent years is truly heartening. We are pleased that SeaWeb is recognizing work on vital issues like seafood traceability and transparency.”

The annual Seafood Champion Awards program, now in its 11th year, recognizes individuals and organizations for excellence in promoting environmentally responsible seafood. There are 16 finalists in four categories. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 5 at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in Seattle.

“This year’s finalists have a global perspective, whether they act locally or at a broader level,” said Mark Spalding, president of SeaWeb and The Ocean Foundation. “Improving seafood’s sustainability requires addressing difficult political, technical, social and economic questions. To create change, you have to forge alliances and bring people together around a common cause. These are not easy things to do, but the Champions on this list have forged ahead and are making real progress.”

PDS was founded in San Francisco in 2014 with the goal of increasing transparency and traceability in the global seafood supply chain. Its vessel tracking system, roughly the size of a typical smartphone, records a vessel’s location multiple times per minute, and automatically and securely transmits stored data within network range. Using this data, fishers and regulators can track vessel and fleet fishing activity, confirming the legality and location of catch and the type of gear that was used.

“As the expectation of transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain grows, we are working to develop technologies that serve fishermen, regulators, and the environment, making management and smart business decisions easily accessible,” said Melissa Garren, PDS Chief Scientific Officer. “We continue to be inspired and motivated by the creativity and innovation in this sector.”

The Seafood Champion Award for Innovation recognizes those who identify and apply new solutions to ecological challenges, market needs or sustainability barriers. In addition to Pelagic Data Systems, the finalists are:

  • FISH-i Africa, a partnership of eight East African countries that combats large-scale illegal fishing by sharing information and taking collective enforcement action. FISH-i’s string of investigations and prosecutions has created a more responsible fisheries sector.
  • Alan Lovewell of the 1,200-member, community-supported fishery Real Good Fish. He also runs Bay2Tray, a program within Real Good Fish that brings affordable local fish to public school districts with high poverty rates and sends fishermen into classrooms to teach about the ocean, fishing and health.
  • Karl Warr of Better Fishing. He has improved the sustainability of bottom trawling with an easily fitted cage mechanism that can free 95 percent of juvenile fish, saving fuel costs and allowing fishers to catch species selectively.

The Seafood Champion Award for Leadership recognizes people and organizations that bring stakeholders together to improve seafood sustainability or ocean health. The finalists are:

  • Susi Pudjiastuti, Indonesia’s Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries since 2014. She has banned the use of bottom trawlers and other unsustainable catching devices; led the fight against IUU fishing in her geographically dispersed island nation; and fought against the use of forced labor on fishing vessels.
  • Wally Stevens of the Global Aquaculture Alliance. A widely admired leading light in aquaculture, he has developed the GAA as both a competitive force, with its Best Aquaculture Practices certification, and a precompetitive convener via the annual GOAL Conference, the Responsible Aquaculture Foundation, the Global Aquaculture Advocate and other initiatives.
  • Mariah Boyle of FishWise. Known for bridging divides to unite businesses, NGOs and governments in pursuit of common goals, she has led companies such as Albertsons, Target, Hy-Vee and Sea Delight to improve traceability and reduce the risk of IUU fishing and human rights abuses in their supply chains. Her efforts have positively affected more than 7,500 stores and 250 million pounds of seafood.
  • Sea Pact, an innovative alliance of nine leading North American seafood businesses. The organization uses its collective power to lead improvement throughout the global supply chain, funding projects to drive change while showcasing how competitors can work together.

The Seafood Champion Award for Vision recognizes distinctive visions that significantly advance the sustainable seafood community. The finalists are:

  • Bren Smith, who is leading the development and promotion of 3-D ocean farms. His nonprofit GreenWave helps fishers become ocean farmers by adopting GreenWave’s open-source, replicable model, which restores rather than depletes ocean ecosystems.
  • Matthew Beaudin, executive chef of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, who moved $1 million in buying power to seafood producers within a 90-mile radius. He also is a regional and cross-border leader, developing aquaponics programs to support orphaned, HIV-positive children in Mexico.
  • The Marine Research Foundation, a three-person nonprofit in Malaysia whose work protects endangered sea turtles while making Malaysia’s shrimp-fishing industry more sustainable. The MRF overcame entrenched opposition to the use of turtle excluder devices and now anticipates a full rollout of the devices, which will save an estimated 4,000 turtles. That will open access for Malaysia to a global market hungry for sustainable shrimp.
  • The Global Ghost Gear Initiative, the first effort to tackle the problem of abandoned fishing gear on a global scale. This international, cross-sector partnership works with stakeholders from fishers to the United Nations to collect data and develop and model solutions that remove ghost gear from the ocean.

The Seafood Champion Award for Advocacy recognizes the promotion of sustainability, use of the media to raise the profile of sustainable seafood, work to strengthen public policy and resource allocations, and championing of advances in sustainable seafood. The finalists are:

  • The International Pole & Line Foundation, which spearheaded an effort by Indian Ocean countries to reform tuna fisheries management and played a central role in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission’s groundbreaking adoption of a precautionary harvest strategy.
  • Ned Bell, Ocean Wise executive chef at the Vancouver Aquarium and founder of Chefs for Oceans, who has made sustainable seafood his mission. In 2014, he rode his bike 8,700 km across Canada, hosting 20 events alongside some of the country’s best chefs to raise awareness of sustainable seafood.
  • Dr. Caleb Otto, former Permanent Representative of the Republic of Palau to the United Nations, who has led his small island nation to a position of leadership on the international stage through his passionate advocacy for ocean health and sustainability at the United Nations.
  • Bill Mook of Mook Sea Farm in Maine, who is modeling how shellfish growers everywhere can address the threat of ocean acidification. He has become a resource for hatchery and farm operators in the U.S. and abroad, counseling them on how to avoid losses and exchanging innovative ideas for protecting the industry.

For more information on the awards and finalists, go to www.seafoodchampions.org. For more information on the awards ceremony and the Seafood Summit, go to www.seafoodsummit.org.

Read the release at Marketwired

New Fisheries Monitoring Technology to Take Center Stage at Seafood Source Webinar

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — October 19, 2016 — This Thursday, October 20, advances in low-cost small-scale fisheries monitoring will be showcased on Seafood Source’s monthly webinar series. Viewers will learn how emerging technology is significantly smaller and cheaper than traditional vessel monitoring systems, and is helping to lead the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. These new tools are also ensuring that small-scale and artisanal fishermen remain competitive as standards for seafood transparency increase.

“Small Vessels, BIG Data: Silicon Valley Takes Up the Fight Against IUU Fishing” will feature Pelagic Data Systems’ (PDS) CEO Dave Solomon and Chief Scientific Officer Melissa Garren, along with Jack Whalen of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, and will be hosted by Seafood Source editor Cliff White. It will be held from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EST, and is free to view with registration at seafoodsource.com.

PDS is the developer of lightweight vessel tracking systems made specially for small vessels that are being used to fight IUU fishing, and the exploitation of global fish stocks. It has partnered with fishing and conservation groups to pilot its technology in Southeast Asia, as well as Latin America and West Africa. The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership is a non-profit that works to rebuild depleted fish stocks.

Technology such as the one developed by PDS provides monitoring for vessels that are otherwise unable to accommodate large and expensive traditional satellite-based monitoring systems. Such technology is growing in importance as regulations increasingly put a premium on transparency in the seafood supply chain. Just recently, the U.S. raised standards on imported seafood, making it more important than ever for fishermen to have cheap tracking tools to verify sustainable practices.

Using vessel-monitoring tools can also help small-scale and artisanal fishermen stay competitive as the demand for seafood transparency grows. Certifications for fairly traded and sustainably caught seafood can increase the price of catch, but require more comprehensive monitoring to achieve. New technologies allow fishermen to be proactive in demonstrating they are doing things the right way, without waiting for regulations to force their hand.

Today, 95 percent of the global fishing fleet consists of small-scale vessels, and most of these are invisible to data monitoring. This allows for IUU fishing, which hurts the vast majority of the fishing industry and steals profits from legitimate fishing businesses. Filling in the data gap for small-scale fisheries has the potential to benefit law-abiding fishermen while helping to rid the world of IUU fishing.

Register for the webinar here

How to Find Out If the Crabs You’re Eating Are Local

July 5, 2016 — Seafood traceability is a global concern—and the bay isn’t exempt: The crab on Chesapeake menus may come from elsewhere in the country, or might be an entirely different species from Asia. Here are a few tips for determining whether the crab you’re eating is local.

Know your species

Callinectes sapidus, Atlantic blue crab, is harvested from the bay as well as the Carolinas and the Gulf. The usually cheaper Portunus pelagicus, Asian blue swimming crab, is imported. Beware ambiguous descriptors such as “blue crab” (versus “Chesapeake blue crab” or “local blue crab”) and, in preparations like crabcakes, “Chesapeake-style.”

Know your season

Legally, the Chesapeake crab harvest runs from April to mid-December, with the fattest, heaviest crabs typically arriving in late summer/early fall. Those Memorial Day–weekend jumbos? Likely not local.

Read the full story in the Washingtonian 

Sens. Blumenthal and Portman ask president to expand seafood traceability rule

May 17, 2016 — U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rob Portman (R-OH), co-chairs of the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking, sent a letter to the president today asking that he expand a proposed rule on seafood traceability.

“We welcome the Administration’s proposed rule on seafood traceability as a further step in combatting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud,” the Senators wrote. “However, we remain concerned that the steps outlined will not adequately address these problems and do little to confront human trafficking within the seafood supply chain.”

The letter urged the Administration to ensure the final version of the rule enhances enforcement requirements on the high seas to prevent human trafficking on vessels, expands seafood traceability to all species, and strengthens tracking requirements beyond the first point of entry into U.S. commerce.

“As a world leader, the U.S. must do all within its power to provide adequate safeguards against illegal and exploitative seafood supply chains,” the Senators concluded.

Read the full letter here

 

Marine Stewardship Council: New research reveals levels of consumer trust in seafood labelling

March 16, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Early results from the MSC’s latest survey of more than 16,000 seafood consumers show that more than half (55%) doubt that the seafood they consume is what it says on the packet. Across the 21 countries surveyed, 65% of those purchasing seafood say they want to know that their fish can be traced back to a known and trusted source, with six in ten (63%) saying they look to ecolabels as a trusted source of information.

The findings come as the organisation today released results from its DNA testing of MSC labelled seafood products. In 2015, the MSC commissioned the Wildlife DNA Forensics unit at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) to conduct DNA tests on a random sample of 257 MSC labelled seafood products from 16 countries. The test verifies that the species described on the packaging is the same as that in the product. The DNA test results show that over 99%* of MSC labelled products are correctly labelled.

MSC CEO Rupert Howes said, “Given a recent academic study showing that globally around 30% of seafood is mislabelled**, the results of the MSC’s DNA testing program are very positive. Seafood sold with the blue MSC label can be traced back to a sustainable source, and our robust chain of custody requirements provide reassurance that it’s correctly labelled.”

The latest round of DNA testing is the fifth to be commissioned by the MSC. Previous results also showed very little mislabelling. The results are captured in a new report, Ocean to plate: how DNA testing helps to ensure traceable sustainable seafood.

Mr Howes adds: “High profile food scares such as the European horsemeat scandal have left many consumers wary of claims made on food packaging. Food fraud undermines the efforts of reputable fishers and traders and has led to wide recognition of the need for credible traceability in the supply chain. The MSC Chain of Custody program is one of the most recognised and widely used ways of providing this reassurance to seafood consumers and businesses.”

Fishers, processors, retailers and chefs handling MSC certified sustainable seafood must follow strict requirements to ensure that seafood is traceable and correctly labelled. The MSC Chain of Custody Standard is used by international seafood suppliers, brands and retailers such as IKEA, McDonalds, Iglo and Lidl to ensure the integrity of their products.

Alfredd Schumm, WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative leader said: “By preferentially purchasing sustainable seafood, consumers are rewarding responsible fishers and their efforts to safeguard our marine resources. A traceable supply chain, from the consumer back to sustainable fisheries, is fundamental to consumers’ trust and confidence in the seafood they’re buying. The MSC’s requirements for traceability are essential if we are to maintain healthy fish populations and ocean ecosystems.”

There are more than 20,000 MSC labelled products available in around 100 countries.

The MSC has released a new animation showing the journey of MSC certified seafood from ocean to plate. Follow: #OceanToPlate.

Read the release online at Reuters

New DNA results answer consumers’ demand for trust in seafood

March 15, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Two-thirds (67 percent) of U.S. seafood consumers say they want to know that their fish can be traced back to a known and trusted source, with 58 percent saying they look to ecolabels as a trusted source of information. Globally, 55 percent doubt that the seafood they consume is what it says on the package. These findings are from the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) latest survey of more than 16,000 seafood consumers across 21 countries.

Today, the MSC also released results from DNA tests showing that over 99 percent* of MSC ecolabeled products are correctly labeled. In 2015, the MSC commissioned the Wildlife DNA Forensics unit at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) to conduct DNA tests on a random sample of 257 MSC ecolabeled seafood products from 16 countries. The test verifies that the species described on the packaging is the same as that in the product. By comparison, Oceana’s nationwide survey in 2013 found one-third (33 percent) of U.S. seafood samples genetically analyzed were mislabeled. 

Commenting on the results, Brian Perkins, MSC Regional Director – Americas, said, “The MSC’s DNA results prove you can trust that seafood sold with the blue MSC ecolabel really is what the package says it is and can be traced from ocean to plate. Last month, the U.S. government announced proposed rules that would require tracking to combat illegal fishing and fraud. Many businesses are left wondering whether they’re selling seafood that was produced legally and sustainably. MSC certification means consumers and businesses can be confident that MSC ecolabeled fish has been caught legally and can be traced back to a sustainable source.”

The latest round of DNA testing is the fifth to be commissioned by the MSC. Previous results also showed very little mislabeling of MSC ecolabeled seafood. The MSC’s DNA testing program and results are captured in a new report, Ocean to plate: How DNA testing helps to ensure traceable sustainable seafood.

MSC ecolabeled fish is sold and processed by certified organizations operating in more than 38,000 sites in over 100 countries. Fishers, processors, retailers and chefs handling MSC certified seafood must follow strict requirements to ensure that seafood is traceable and correctly labeled. The MSC Chain of Custody Standard is used by leading brands in driving awareness and consumer education on sustainable seafood such as Whole Foods, McDonald’s, and IKEA to ensure the integrity of the products they sell.

Susan Forsell, Vice President, Sustainability, McDonald’s USA said: “We know our customers care about where their food comes from, which is why McDonald’s USA is proud to only serve fish sourced from a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fishery. This means that our customers can confidently know that the wild-caught, Alaska Pollock they enjoy on our Filet-O-Fish sandwich can be traced back to sustainably managed fisheries, direct from the pristine waters of Alaska.”

Private Sector Demonstrates that Seafood Traceability is Possible and Profitable

March 9, 2016 — Ordering seafood off a menu in your favorite restaurant or from your local grocery store’s seafood counter may not be as simple as you think. Right now, it is far too difficult for consumers to know basic facts about the seafood on their plates, such as what species of fish they are actually buying, where the fish is coming from, and how it was caught. The prevalence of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing around the world means that you might be eating an endangered species caught in a protected area, and seafood fraud – the mislabeling of seafood products – means you probably wouldn’t know if you were. Fortunately, a new report released this week by Oceana demonstrates that full-chain traceability for our seafood – a full accounting of its path from catch to consumption – is both achievable and beneficial.

Last month, the Obama administration’s Presidential Task Force on Combating IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud released a proposed rule that requires traceability to the first point of entry into U.S. commerce for certain species considered “at risk” of these activities. While it is an encouraging sign that the administration is addressing the problems of IUU and seafood fraud, the actions proposed do not go far enough. The proposed rule is currently open for public comment until April 5. Ultimately, the final rule should expand the documentation requirements to all seafood and extend traceability throughout the entire seafood supply chain.

Consumers deserve accurate information about the origins of their seafood, and Oceana’s new report, Fish Stories: Success and Value in Seafood Traceability, demonstrates the feasibility of such a practice. Oceana’s report spotlights the efforts of more than 15 companies that are using traceability now. As the report details, full-chain traceability isn’t just possible; it’s a profitable option for businesses that helps their customers make responsible choices.

Read the full story at The Huffington Post

New England Seafood Companies Highlight Traceability Practices in Saving Seafood Video

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – March 8, 2016 – Sustainability and traceability are key themes of this year’s Seafood Expo North America, being held this week in Boston. A new video released today from Saving Seafood highlights how the U.S. seafood industry is focused on sustainable, traceable, and high-quality local seafood.  

Taken from a series of interviews conducted by Saving Seafood at last year’s Seafood Expo, the video features representatives from some of New England’s most prominent seafood companies sharing how they ensure that domestic seafood is fresh, sustainably sourced, and reliably traced.

https://vimeo.com/158218161

In recent years, as concerns about seafood fraud have increased, companies cited their ability to closely monitor supply chains, from the minute the fish leaves the water to the moment the final product exits the warehouse as the kind of control and assurance their buyers demand. 

“When you’re dealing with the customer base we have, they want a premium product, MSC certified, and domestic,” said George Kouri, COO of Northern Wind of New Bedford, Massachusetts. “Everything we pack is exactly to the customer’s specification and labeled in accordance.”

One of the largest seafood shows in the United States, Seafood Expo North America brings together leading members of the domestic seafood community, including harvesters, processors, wholesalers, and retailers. While over 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, Expo participants touted several major benefits of purchasing and consuming seafood caught in U.S. waters, chief among them the fact that U.S. law requires domestic fisheries be harvested at sustainable levels.

“For us, we’re able to trace those goods, in the case of scallops specifically, from the individual tow, all the way to the lotted box that ultimately ends up in the possession of our customers,” said John Furtado, the Executive Vice President of Eastern Fisheries, of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Domestically caught seafood, in addition to coming from sustainably managed stocks, also has a clear advantage over imported fish when it comes to being properly labeled and accurately traced, according to many of the interviewees. Another benefit of locally sourced seafood, they say: it’s easier to track.

“Every single species that we are pulling out of the ocean and serving up to our clients, to our chefs, and to our specialty retailers are sustainable,” said Laura Foley Ramsden, co-owner of M.F. Foley, Inc. of Boston, and a former councilmember on the New England Fishery Management Council. “We’re able to go to our customers and inform them about how fisheries in the U.S. are managed, that it’s illegal to be overfishing, and that they are coming from a sustainable resource.”

“We’ve always known where all the fish came from, and where it went,” said Charlie Nagle, President of Boston’s John Nagle Co. “Everything we do is traceable.”

Among the Expo attendees featured in the video are representatives from Northern Wind; M.F. Foley Inc.; John Nagle Co.; and Eastern Fisheries. They each expressed to Saving Seafood the importance of maintaining not only a sustainably sourced product, but also one that is fresh and of the highest quality.

“We have extremely disciplined buying, so that we put people in each of the New England ports every single day looking at the fish, buying fish that’s only 24 to 48 hours out of the water,” said Ramsden. “If you’re that disciplined in your buying standards, you’re going to produce a better tasting, fresher fish that then ends up in plates all across America.”

The video is just a small sample of the many U.S. seafood providers who adhere to some of the world’s highest standards to bring high quality seafood to the domestic market. Saving Seafood is proud to support sustainable seafood providers, and will continue to highlight the stories of successful, sustainable U.S. fisheries.

View the video here

New Oceana Report Highlights Success and Value in Seafood Traceability

March 7, 2016 — WASHINGTON — Today, Oceana released a new report titled Fish Stories, showing the success and value in seafood traceability. The report, which highlights how seafood traceability benefits more than 15 companies interviewed along the supply chain – from fishermen and distributors to grocery stores and restaurants – was released at Seafood Expo North America in Boston.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here:http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160307006385/en/

“Traceability is the future of seafood,” said Beth Lowell, senior campaign director at Oceana. “Testimonials from these pioneers show that full-chain traceability isn’t just feasible, but that it’s also profitable. These businesses are telling the stories of their products, growing their seafood’s value, and establishing trust with their customers. Fishermen and wholesalers are able to earn more for their catch when they can tell the story of their fish, empowering consumers to make more informed decisions. The federal government should require boat-to-plate traceability for all seafood sold in the U.S. so that the entire supply chain can reap its benefits.”

Here are a few of their stories:

“We have learned that consumers care about where their fish comes from,” said Jared Auerbach, owner of Red’s Best in Boston, Massachusetts. “We built proprietary web-based software that starts at the point of unloading and makes it really easy for us to package the story of the catch so it stays with the fish throughout the supply chain.”

“Working directly with local growers, delivering product within 24 hours of harvest, and product traceability are all major components of our company’s success,” said Brad Blymier, founder and co-owner of War Shore Oyster Company in Onancock, Virginia. “Traceability of product is not a request, but rather an expectation of our customers. Empowering them with the knowledge of exactly where their shellfish was grown and harvested is an invaluable asset and has helped make War Shore Oyster Company a trusted supplier to the region’s top chefs, restaurants, grocers and shellfish connoisseurs.”

“Traceability in its simplest form is being able to see where the product is being caught and what stores or restaurants it ends up at,” said Reese Antley, vice president of Wood’s Fisheries in Port St. Joe, Florida. “However, Wood’s Fisheries sees traceability in a much more detailed way — we believe that you can’t have true sustainability and fishery improvements without traceability. For our customers, we are 100 percent transparent; if you want to know every step in the supply chain, it’s at your fingertips.”

“Seafood traceability allows the consumer to make factual decisions about their purchases,” said John Rorapaugh, director of sustainability at ProFish in Washington, D.C. “In turn, it allows our company to present the finest products, free of comparison to illegally harvested or inferior quality ones. Transparency is the key to a sustainable global food chain, and seafood traceability is a key component.”

Read the full story at KLTV