Saving Seafood

New report combines data of five leading sustainability NGOs for first time

June 13, 2019 — A new report released during the 2019 SeaWeb Seafood Summit, (SWSS19) has united data from five of the leading seafood sustainability NGOs, giving a comprehensive look at the sustainability of the world’s oceans.

“Sustainable Seafood: A Global Benchmark” has brought together the data and expertise of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Fair Trade USA, Marine Stewardship Council, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. Together, the collective data has formed a report looking at the sustainability of different seafood sectors, and the priorities that should be focused on moving forward.

The report is thanks to the Seafood Certification and Ratings Collaboration, which launched in 2015.

“Through the collaboration, we aim to increase our impact by coordinating our tools and leveraging our extensive data on the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture,” the report said.

The report, and the compiling of the data of the various NGOs, has been a goal of the collaboration and regular updated analysis are planned in the future.

“This first edition is intended as a benchmark, illustrating the current level of performance and identifying the improvements needed going forward,” the report said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

SFP announces Target 75 progress

April 22, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

The Target 75 initiative launched by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is halfway toward the goal of 75 percent of seafood production in key sectors classified as sustainable or improving toward sustainability by the end of 2020. This progress has been driven by increasing collaboration among industry, NGOs, governments, and other stakeholders.

SFP CEO Jim Cannon, in a luncheon presentation last month coinciding with Seafood Expo North America, said that 14 percent of seafood in all T75 sectors is already meeting the sustainable criteria, while 18 percent can be classified as “improving.” Cannon also noted that many industry stakeholders have expressed strong interest in starting new fishery or aquaculture improvement projects (FIPs/AIPs) that will cover a total of 28 percent more.

That leaves a mere 15 percent to go, and with more than 18 months remaining until the 2020 deadline, Cannon said he and SFP are confident that the industry can meet these goals.

Exciting developments include the launch of a Global Mahi Supply Chain Roundtable (SR), with 11 participating companies already onboard. The SR will focus on Eastern Pacific Ocean large pelagic multi-species fisheries and on influencing regional policy and encouraging alignment across the entire fleet at a transboundary level.

Cannon also highlighted very positive news in the squid sector, which at one point had no volume whatsoever meeting the T75 criteria, but now has risen to 14 percent, with a number of projects in the works that promise to push that number even higher. On the aquaculture front, a collaboration of NGOs, IDH, and the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is launching a pilot to implement new tools to improve regional productivity, investment, profitability, and environmental performance.

Cannon noted that there has been significant improvement progress this past year, with 45 FIPs achieving A or B ratings, which means they made measurable improvements in the past 12 months. Examples of progress include new logbook systems, new harvest control rules, and new research programs.

“A lot of those improvements are not very ‘sexy’ at all,” he said. “But these are the building blocks upon which you ultimately do get stock recovery and better management of fishery and aquaculture practices globally, which will ultimately lead to healthier seas.”

Bakkafrost joins Ocean Disclosure Project

April 1, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce that Faroese salmon farming company Bakkafrost has become a participant in the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP).

Bakkafrost has published a seafood sourcing disclosure to coincide with the publication of its latest Healthy Living Sustainability Report. The disclosure contains a list of the main wild-catch fisheries from which Bakkafrost sources marine ingredients for use in its fish feed, which is produced in-house for its salmon farming operations. The source list is published alongside information on fishery management, catch method, and environmental impact.

“Good access to local marine sources has enabled us to maintain a high nutritional content in our feed. Ensuring these sources are sustainable is a priority for us. We are very pleased to be increasing transparency about our sourcing through the Ocean Disclosure Project,” said Odd Eliasen, Managing Director of Havsbrún, the Bakkafrost subsidiary that produces the fish feed.

SFP started the ODP in 2015 to provide a valuable information resource for responsible investors, seafood consumers, and others interested in sustainable seafood. To date, 18 other companies in North America and Europe have participated. Other ODP participants include fish feed manufacturers Biomar Norway, Cargill/EWOS, and Skretting Norway.

“We are pleased to welcome Bakkafrost to the Ocean Disclosure Project,” said Tania Woodcock, ODP Project Manager. “Thanks to its fully vertically integrated value chain, Bakkafrost has full control over production and is able to trace its use of marine ingredients from North Atlantic fisheries to feed to the final salmon product. This enables them to be completely transparent about their sourcing.”

Bakkafrost’s full profile can be viewed at: https://oceandisclosureproject.org/companies/bakkafrost

Bakkafrost’s latest sustainability report can be viewed at: https://www.bakkafrost.com/media/2012/2018-sustainability-report.pdf

Tesco joins Ocean Disclosure Project

March 26, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce that UK retailer Tesco has become the newest participant in the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP).

Tesco has published two seafood disclosures, containing a list of the main wild-catch fisheries from which Tesco sourced in 2017 and 2018, along with information on fishery management, catch method, and environmental impact.

Giles Bolton, Responsible Sourcing Director for Tesco said: “We want our customers to be able to enjoy sustainable and affordable fish now and long into the future, so we’re determined to play our part in protecting the world’s oceans and fish stocks. Publishing data as part of the Ocean Disclosure Project underlines our commitment to transparency right across our supply chains, as we continue to drive up standards in environmental sustainability.”

SFP started the ODP in 2015 to provide a valuable information resource for responsible investors, seafood consumers, and others interested in sustainable seafood. To date, 17 other companies in North America and Europe have participated.

Other ODP participants include UK retailers Asda, Co-op Food, Lidl UK, and Morrisons, and US retailers Publix Supermarkets, Walmart, Giant Eagle, and Meijer.

“By participating in the Ocean Disclosure Project, Tesco has demonstrated its commitment to responsible sourcing of seafood,” said Tania Woodcock, ODP Project Manager. “Tesco’s disclosure represents a significant proportion of the seafood consumed in the UK. We hope that other UK retailers and seafood suppliers will also be encouraged to support transparency in the seafood sector by disclosing their seafood sourcing.”

Ian Rolmanis, SFP’s Buyer Engagement Director, UK & EU, added “SFP and Tesco have been working together for many years on the sustainability of their seafood supply chain, and the release of their wild sourcing information through ODP is a very exciting move towards increased transparency and should be commended.”

Tesco’s full profile can be viewed at: https://oceandisclosureproject.org/companies/Tesco

Seafood importers backing groups in protecting vaquita

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

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce eight US importers of Mexican seafood—Aquastar, Artisan Catch (Orca Foods LLC), Del Pacifico, Inland Seafood, Meridian Products, Ocean Garden Products, Santa Monica Seafood, and Seattle Fish Company—have joined together to donate $12,000 to VaquitaCPR to fund removal of illegal fishing gear from the upper Gulf of California.

All eight companies participate in a Mexican Seafood Supply Chain Roundtable (SR) facilitated by SFP for managing ongoing sustainability improvement efforts.

The vaquita porpoise in the upper Gulf of California is critically endangered. The most recent population estimate (2018) indicates, at most, only 22 individuals. Though gillnets were banned from the upper Gulf of California throughout the vaquita’s native range in 2017, illegal use of gillnets by totoaba poachers and shrimp fishermen has continued and is threatening the existence of the vaquita.

“Unless this decline can be stopped by eliminating mortality in illegal gillnets, the vaquita will be extinct in a few years,” said the authors of a 2017 report from the 10th meeting of the Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita.

Through VaquitaCPR, conservation organizations such as Museo de la Ballena and the World Wildlife Fund are working with the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Mexican Navy as well as local fishermen to remove the illegal gillnets from the water on a continuing basis. This gear removal program is critical to the survival of the remaining vaquita.

“The seafood community has a long history of supporting the environmental and social needs of our community. None of these needs have been more important than the conservation, protection, and recovery needs of the vaquita porpoise,” said Lance Leonard, President/CEO of Ocean Garden Products, Inc. “The industry stands united in working with government, NGOs, and environmental groups to identify ways to save this unique mammal. We support the activity of VaquitaCPR and hope to bring attention to the cause with our customers and consumers.”

These companies, along with a number of other Mexican Seafood SR participants, have also sent a letter of support for alternative gear development to the Mexican government and upper Gulf of California shrimp fishermen. In this letter, they request that the Mexican government improve enforcement of the gillnet ban, but also expedite the processes necessary to develop and approve a viable alternative gear for small-scale shrimp fishermen.

“We would like to further express our willingness to collaborate in this important effort through the purchase, distribution, and marketing of the shrimp captures resulting from the adoption of fishing gears other than gillnets and or entanglement nets, which do not represent risk of bycatch to the vaquita marina,” participants wrote in the letter.

The importers are pledging future support to develop a market in the U.S. for “vaquita-safe” shrimp, once it becomes available. The letter was sent to the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, National Commissioner of Aquaculture and Fisheries, and the National Commissioner of Natural Protected Areas, as well as shrimp producer cooperatives in the upper Gulf region.

According to Megan Westmeyer, SFP Senior Improvements and Strategy Manager, “When the permanent gillnet ban went into effect without a viable alternative gear for the artisanal shrimp fishery, the supply chain lost the ability to use its purchasing power to affect change. Fortunately, these suppliers are determined to see that the upper Gulf of California can be home to both the vaquita porpoise and a sustainable artisanal shrimp fishery, and are taking action to ensure this vision becomes reality.”

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership announces new joint aquaculture improvement project in Indonesia

March 18, 2019 — The following was published by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce the initiation of a new sustainable aquaculture improvement project in Indonesia.

The project, scheduled for two years in Banyuwangi, East Java, will focus on improving the sustainability of aquaculture in the region, as well as governance and management of ongoing shrimp farming.

“Effective management of the natural resource base and protection from disease is critical to ensure the long-term investability of the shrimp industry,” said SFP Aquaculture Director Anton Immink.

SFP is working to coordinate the project, together with Conservation International, IDH—the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and Longline Environment. The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning, and the Financial Service Authority of Indonesia will all be collaborating on the project as well.

“This program will support the ministry’s efforts to grow sustainable shrimp exports from Indonesia,” said Machmud, Directorate General of Product Competitiveness for the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

The approach is designed to address disease risks and environmental impacts across a politically and ecologically relevant location, to attract investment and insurance and create a scalable model that can be exported to other geographies.

“This project builds positively on the guidelines we jointly developed and creates the action needed to ensure a sustainable future for the shrimp industry in Indonesia,” said Dane Klinger, Aquaculture Innovation Fellow at CI.

The project is supported by the Walton Family Foundation and the Packard Foundation.

SFP notes progress, work ahead for squid sector in new report

March 5, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

The global squid sector has made notable progress in the past year toward sustainability goals, but much work remains to be done, according to the latest Target 75 sector report from Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).

The report is an update of the same sector report released last year, with updated data and conclusions. SFP will be updating this and other sector reports until the end of 2020, the deadline for achieving the T75 goal—to get 75 percent or more of global seafood production by volume to be classified as sustainable or improving toward sustainability.

According to the report, a confirmed 14 percent of global production is now recognized as sustainable or improving. Much of the improvements can be traced back to efforts by the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the Southern Pacific Jumbo Flying Squid (CALAMASUR). The group has been working on key projects such as the Peruvian Jumbo Flying Squid Fishery Improvement Project (FIP), and negotiations with the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) to address stock structure issues, improved data collection, and other issues.

SFP also credits the development of a preliminary stock assessment model presented to the RFMO, as well as the launching of a FIP covering Japanese flying squid. “The current FIP volume reflects a relatively small percentage of global production, but the total Japanese flying squid production across China, Japan, and Korea makes up a significant volume and is essential to the T75 goal,” said Sam Grimley, who leads the Global Squid Supply Chain Roundtable for SFP.

The report notes there is potential for much more of the sector to meet the T75 criteria.

“There are, fortunately, a number of fisheries making incremental improvements that are not yet publicly recorded under FIPs,” the report’s authors wrote. “It is possible that existing supply chain leverage and interest may be able to influence an additional 43 percent of global production.”

Management of fishing fleets in international waters will be the key. The report recommends working with Chinese and South Korean fisheries operating in waters off the coast of South America by leveraging market demand.

“SFP has always operated from the philosophy that industrial stakeholders can drive change by using the markets themselves,” said SFP CEO Jim Cannon. “Here we see a prime opportunity to demonstrate the real power the industry has to work toward more sustainable seafood production.”

Read the full report here

FishChoice, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership to cross-list companies disclosing sourcing info

February 8, 2019 — A new collaboration between the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the environmental nonprofit FishChoice will result in members of its supplier program becoming Ocean Disclosure Project participants.

FishChoice, which encourages seafood suppliers to publicly share information – including product sources, certifications, and sustainability ratings – has named the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) as its newest Sustainable Seafood Affiliate. The designation will result in data-sharing between the two programs, with suppliers that list their full source list for wild-caught seafood on the FishChoice website being recognized as ODP participants, with their listings in the ODP portal linking to their FishChoice profile.

FishChoice supplier members Albion Farms and Fisheries, North Atlantic Inc., and Tradex Foods are already listed on both websites, with their profiles containing product pages for each species sold, “giving seafood buyers instant access to up-to-date product sustainability information,” SFP said in a press release.

“We are very happy to be collaborating with FishChoice on the Ocean Disclosure Project, to help one another work with the seafood industry to deliver more sustainable seafood production,” ODP Project Manager Tania Woodcock said. “Companies that report their full list of wild-caught seafood products into FishChoice’s supplier directory meet with the ODP’s requirements for transparency in seafood sourcing.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

SFP credits squid supply chain roundtable for improvements to global sustainability

January 30, 2019 — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership is crediting work performed at its global squid supply chain roundtable for the rapid improvement in the sustainability of squid fisheries globally.

According to SFP, nearly one-fifth of all squid produced globally can now be classified as either sustainable or improving toward sustainability. That’s in stark contrast to just a year ago, when SFP estimated that less than one percent of squid production was sustainable or improving.

SFP has been monitoring the sustainability of squid – and many other fisheries – as part of its Target 75 Initiative, which back in 2017 set a goal to have 75 percent or more of seafood volume produced globally either reach sustainability or be improving toward sustainability.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

SFP praises improvement in global squid sustainability

January 29, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

There has been a significant jump in the volume of squid produced globally—nearly one fifth—that can now be classified as sustainable or improving toward sustainability, and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is crediting work done in its Global Squid Supply Chain Roundtable as playing a part.

SFP is monitoring the state of global squid production as part of its ongoing Target 75 initiative, which has set the goal to see 75 percent or more of global seafood volume produced in a manner that is either sustainable or improving toward sustainability, all by the end of 2020. SFP has maintained that Supply Chain Roundtables (SRs), while not exclusively required, are a valuable tool in driving positive change.

The Global Squid SR, which allows for squid buyers, suppliers, and other key industry stakeholders to work together in a pre-competitive fashion toward improving sustainable squid production worldwide, officially merged into a single entity in March 2017.

At the time, there was no squid production anywhere in the world that met the Target 75 criteria. Now, however, SFP analysts say 18 percent of global squid volume qualifies. In addition, work is proceeding to establish several new fishery improvement projects (FIPs) that could add as much as 19 percent more global volume, totaling 37 percent.

“Beginning at the point where we first formed the combined SR, a lot has been accomplished in a pretty short time,” said Sam Grimley, who leads the Global Squid SR for SFP. “Based on that, it’s pretty safe to say we’ll be making more announcements about progress with squid down the road.”

A significant stakeholder driving this jump in improvement is the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the Southern Pacific Jumbo Flying Squid (CALAMASUR). The new industry group has accomplished a great deal already to improve Peruvian jumbo flying squid at the critical regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) level, and its work with the newly launched Peruvian Jumbo Flying Squid FIP accounts for a great deal of the recorded improvements. SFP also notes that many other groups and stakeholders were involved, including the China Blue Sustainability Institute, which facilitated an important squid FIP that SFP announced last year. Another major player has been Ocean Outcomes, the NGO that announced the establishment of another FIP late last year, this time focusing on East China Sea and Yellow Sea squid.

SFP is also planning to release an updated version of the 2018 T75 Sector Report, with data that will reflect these and other trends in sustainable squid production worldwide.