Saving Seafood

Namibian fishery is second in Africa to be certified as sustainable

November 17, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Namibia hake trawl and longline fishery has become the first fishery in Namibia, and the second in Africa, to meet the globally recognised standard for sustainable fishing set by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an environmental not for profit.

The certification recognises progress made by the Namibian government and fishing industry in rebuilding hake stocks [1], which in the past were decimated by overfishing by foreign fleets [2]. To be MSC certified, a fishery must show the fish stock is healthy, that it minimises its impact on the environment and has effective management in place [3].

A global surge in consumer interest in sustainably sourced products means demand is outpacing supply. MSC certification will ensure the fishery can continue to export to markets in Southern Europe and will help it expand into retail markets in Northern Europe. Supermarkets and brands in these markets often prefer the fish and seafood they stock to be MSC-certified.

Fishing is the third largest sector of Namibia’s economy, with hake making up the majority of the sector and directly employing more than 10,000 people. The bulk of hake industry jobs go to women, who clean, fillet and pack the fish for export in factories around the ports where the hake is landed. MSC certification is expected to help the sector grow, benefiting the economy, communities and creating more jobs.

Dr. A Kawana Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Government of Namibia

“As custodians of our natural resources, it is our responsibility to manage Namibia’s fisheries in a way that ensures the long-term health and biodiversity of the oceans, and at the same time allows our fishing industry to maximise the value of the resource for the current and future generations of the Namibian people in line with the provisions of article 95(l) of the Namibian constitution. We have worked hard to rebuild hake stocks that were historically overfished. MSC certification of the Namibian Hake is an independent endorsement that our efforts are working, and a signal to retailers, brands and fish lovers around the world that the Namibian Hake is sustainable and it is here to stay.” [4]

Peter Pahl, Chair of the Namibian Hake Fishing Association, said:

“Demand for sustainable hake is growing, especially in Europe. Having MSC certification will help the Namibian Hake industry stay competitive and meet demand in our existing markets, as well as expand into new markets where retailers and brands preferentially stock MSC certified fish to meet their consumers’ expectations. Now we have certification, we hope to see our numbers grow, benefiting Namibians, communities, the economy and of course, the oceans.”

Nomad Foods, which owns the Birdseye, Findus and Iglo brands and has committed to source 100% of its fish and seafood from sustainable sources by the end of 2025, welcomed the certification.

Stefan Descheemaeker, CEO, Nomad Foods said: 

“As the world’s largest buyer of certified wild caught white fish, and a proud co-founder of the MSC, we have a key role to play in encouraging fisheries to continuously improve their practices to ensure the health of fish stocks, vulnerable species and ocean habitats. This requires a long-term view and collaboration across the supply chain. With more than 95% of our raw material already externally certified, we are increasing our focus on fish species that make up the remainder of our portfolio, including Namibian Hake. We have supported the Namibia hake trawl and longline fishery on its certification journey for a number of years and expect to be one of the first companies to bring products made from MSC certified Namibian Hake to European consumers.”

The Namibian Hake fishery, which operates on a much larger scale than many fisheries in the Global South, will add up to 160,000 tonnes of sustainable hake into the sustainable seafood supply chain.

Michael Marriott, MSC Program Manager: Africa, Middle East and South Asia said:

“The Namibian hake fishery’s achievements are a great example of how the MSC programme works in partnership with governments, scientists and the industry to drive change. Around 60% of all seafood is caught in the Global South, where it is a vital source of protein. Interest and engagement in our programme has been growing sharply across emerging economies. We want to work with more fisheries and governments in the region and hope that more will be encouraged by the Namibian hake’s success.”

Overfishing in Africa

More than a third of fish stocks around the world are overfished, yet sustainable fisheries are more productive and resilient to change according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. The World Bank has estimated [5] that the amount of fishing in African waters would need to be reduced by more than 50 percent in order to reach an equilibrium that protects both fish stocks and profits.

The Marine Stewardship Council works with fisheries around the world to combat overfishing, including the South African Hake fishery – which became the first fishery in Africa to achieve MSC certification in 2004. Find out more about how MSC program provides a mechanism for change at www.msc.org

LINDA BEHNKEN & MIKE CONROY: Sustainable fisheries are facing a moratorium

November 17, 2020 — American wild-caught seafood is integral to the nation’s food supply and to American food security. We’ve been working hard to keep it that way in the face of climate change. The people who catch fish for a living experience climate impacts directly. We recognized it early and we’ve responded. In fact, U.S. fishermen have been part of the solution to habitat conservation and climate responses for decades.

Nonetheless, some politicians and environmental organizations have embraced a version of an initiative called 30×30 (“thirty by thirty”) that would damage our nation’s sustainable fisheries and robust fisheries management process. Broadly, 30×30 aims to conserve 30 percent of habitat worldwide by the end of the decade — 2030. The 30×30 approach has been embraced by President-elect Biden’s campaign, and there’s talk he will sign an executive order on his first day in office.

We’re eager to engage with the new administration to address climate impacts and protect habitat. Proactive and durable ocean policy changes need to happen with us, not to us.

Our organizations have advocated for strong ocean conservation for decades, and we’ve built a fisheries management system that will continue to provide enduring protections to ocean habitat while insisting fishermen participate. The results are striking: we’ve established deep-sea habitat protection areas covering over 45 percent of U.S. waters off the West Coast. In 1998 we prohibited trawling off the entire coast of Southeast Alaska. Recently, the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions enacted major deep-sea coral protections that prohibit the use of impactful gear in sensitive areas.

Read the full opinion piece at The Hill

How the digital wave is contributing to the rise of sustainable fisheries

November 12, 2020 — World fish consumption has almost doubled between the 1960s and now, and some estimates suggest fish contributes to at least 50 percent of total animal protein intake in developing nations. Despite higher demand for seafood and fish, world reserves have not kept up, and aquaculture is becoming more common as a result.

Aquaculture uses techniques of breeding marine species in all types of water environments as a means to supplement seafood demand. The practice comes with many advantages, including reducing the dependence on wild-caught species, but also raises environmental concerns, which some industry experts are trying to address with up-and-coming technologies such as analytics, blockchain, artificial intelligence and the internet of things.

Jennifer Kemmerly, vice president of global ocean initiatives at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, said a focus on sustainability is necessary in the field, as 3 billion people rely on seafood, and 60 million people rely on the seafood industry for their livelihood. But this demand comes with noticeable problems, Kemmerly observed during a breakout session during VERGE 20 in late October.

“There’s a lot of overfishing, or depleted fish stocks on the wild side of capture fisheries. There is illegality and mismanagement traceability back to the source of where the seafood is coming from, even whether it is farmed or wild… There are environmental issues and concerns that need to be dealt with,” she said.

Read the full story at GreenBiz

Latest MSC survey highlights “generational shift” in consumer sentiment

November 11, 2020 — A new far-reaching survey by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and prepared by GlobeScan is indicating a generational shift in how consumers in North America view sustainability when they go to purchase seafood.

The survey – part of a biannual effort by the MSC – surveyed more than 4,000 seafood consumers in North America, and finding that seafood sustainability is increasingly important to consumers across all generations, but is most important to those between 18 to 34 years old.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Corrected: Newest ISSF Participating Tuna Company Compliance Report Shows 99.4 percent Conformance with ISSF Conservation Measures

November 6, 2020 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its fifth annual Update to ISSF Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report, which shows a conformance rate of 99.4 percent by 25 ISSF participating companies with all 27 ISSF conservation measures in effect as of October 1, 2019.

As part of its commitment to foster transparency and accountability in the fishing industry, ISSF engages third-party auditor MRAG Americas to assess ISSF participating seafood companies’ compliance with ISSF conservation measures according to a rigorous audit protocol.

The November 2020 report is based on updates to the initial annual audit results published in April 2020, wherein some companies had “minor” or “major” non-conformances with conservation measures in the prior year:

  • The April 2020 annual report showed that one company had four major non-conformances, and two companies had one minor non-conformance each.
  • There were no other instances of major non-conformance reported in 2020.

MRAG Americas defines a minor non-conformance as: “Company does not fully comply with a particular conservation measure or commitment, but this does not compromise the integrity of ISSF initiatives.”

The rate of full conformance for each period since participating-company compliance reporting began is reflected below:

“Since 2015, we’ve seen consistent growth in the conformance rate of our participating companies with ISSF conservation measures, regularly exceeding 90 percent in full rate of conformance and achieving nearly 100 percent in most recent years,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “The compliance and audit process helps ISSF hold industry participants to a high standard with reliable transparency. The world’s leading seafood companies are driven to make sustainability a central part of how they do business.”

The Update to ISSF Conservation Measures & Commitments Compliance Report is published each November to track ISSF participating companies’ progress in conforming with ISSF conservation measures like these:

In addition to the summary compliance reports published in April and November, MRAG Americas issues yearly individual ISSF participating company reports that detail each company’s compliance with all ISSF conservation measures. These include “update” reports, published throughout the year, that explain how individual companies have remediated any non-conformance on the conservation measures.

More Information about ISSF Conservation Measures & Compliance

For long-term tuna sustainability, tuna companies worldwide choose to participate with ISSF, follow responsible fishing practices, and implement science-based conservation measures. From bycatch mitigation to product traceability, ISSF participating companies have committed to conforming to a set of conservation measures and other commitments designed to drive positive change — and to do so transparently through third-party audits.

View ISSF Conservation Measures

View ISSA Compliance Policy

Walmart links sustainability initiative to higher seafood sales

October 27, 2020 — Walmart stores that ran a targeted sustainable seafood campaign have seen a significant lift in fresh seafood sales, an executive with the leading global retailer said.

Starting this spring, Walmart launched a massive store signage campaign for both fresh and frozen seafood “to communicate more clearly to customers the quality, value, and sustainability of the seafood they buy at Walmart,” Jacqui Lyons, divisional merchandise manager for seafood and seasonal meat for Walmart U.S. said in a press release from FMI – The Food Industry Association.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

IFFO virtual conference trumpets the importance of value-chain collaborations, sustainable solutions

October 27, 2020 — To feed a growing population traceable and nutritious proteins, value-chain collaboration is crucial, according to IFFO, the Marine Ingredients Organization, which recently held its annual conference online.

During the event, IFFO President Anne Mette Baek praised the marine ingredients industry for its ongoing efforts promoting greater sustainability and its engagement with the circular economy – actions she said have helped it maintain resilience.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

SFP report: Global reduction fishery sustainability continues to slip

October 16, 2020 — The latest report by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) on the state of the planet’s reduction fisheries has found that the sector has continued to see a decrease in sustainability since 2018.

The report found that overall the sustainability of reduction fisheries – fisheries which go primarily to producing fish meals and oil – has remained relatively steady, with a few key fisheries showing drops in sustainability. In addition, the share of the catch from the “poorly managed” category of reduction fisheries jumped, and accounts for 22 percent of the global catch of reduction fisheries.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood Source’s Top 25 For Sustainability: Q&A With Cooke Inc.

October 13, 2020 — Cooke Inc. is featured in The Top 25: Sustainability & Conservation list, published by SeafoodSource on 24 September, 2020. Cooke Vice President of Public Relations Joel Richardson speaks here on behalf of the company.

SeafoodSource: What kind of trends have informed Cooke’s latest sustainability/conservation efforts?

Richardson: ESG REPORTING: We recognize that a rapidly growing proportion of consumers are driving the importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, as they increasingly look to align themselves with products and companies they trust are transparent in their business practices and serve a greater social purpose.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

The Marine Stewardship Council reports progress in sustainable fishing but urges that efforts be re-doubled to meet the urgent challenges facing our oceans

October 1, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council – an environmental not-for-profit which sets a global standard for sustainable fishing – says there has been encouraging progress in the shift towards sustainably produced seafood, but that momentum has to increase to meet the scale of the challenges facing the oceans.

New figures released by the MSC show that in 2019-2020, fisheries representing more than 17% of the world’s wild marine catch were engaged with its programme,1 whilst the numbers of businesses involved in producing, processing and sourcing MSC-certified seafood continues to rise sharply.2,3

The organisation’s annual report,4 Celebrating and Supporting Sustainable Fisheries, also details that: 

  • Catch from fisheries engaged in the programme has reached 14.7 million tonnes, up from 12.2 million tonnes in the previous year.
  • Consumer choice has increased, with double the number of MSC-labelled product lines (18,735) compared to five years ago.
  • Retail sales of MSC-labelled products has passed $10 billion for the first time, highlighting growing consumer demand for sustainable products. 
This progress comes against a backdrop of growing concern about the health of the world’s oceans – with the UN reporting more than one third of stocks are overfished, a trend which continues to worsen.5

However, there is also growing recognition of the importance of sustainable fishing in protecting our oceans. In June this year the Food and Agriculture Organisation reported that sustainable fisheries are more productive and resilient to change,6 while a UN report in September found that sustainable fishing protected ocean biodiversity.7

There are 409 fisheries in the MSC’s programme with an increasing presence in the developing world.  The proportion of catch from fisheries engaged with the MSC programme which came from the Global South rose by nearly a quarter compared to the previous year, to 13%.

Marine Stewardship Council CEO, Rupert Howes, said:

“We are in the middle of a global pandemic which continues to inflict enormous human suffering and grave economic damage. However, the crisis also presents an opportunity to shift our economies to a more sustainable and more equitable footing. Ensuring thriving oceans for future generations is an essential component of this.

“For more than 20 years the MSC has connected fishers, business and consumers who care about the future of our oceans. We cannot afford to slip back – we must increase our efforts to engage more fisheries, reach new markets and drive further improvements through the leadership of our partners whose success we celebrate. Let us use this opportunity to redouble efforts to conserve our oceans for future generations.”