Saving Seafood

Sysco tightens seafood sustainability policy to require more MSC- and ASC-certified seafood

January 14, 2021 — Foodservice distributor Sysco will significantly increase its purchases of certified responsible seafood by 2025, as part of an enhanced commitment with its partner, World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The Houston, Texas, U.S.A.-based distributor will also expand its current responsible sourcing program for its U.S. broadline business to include sourcing for its specialty and Canadian broadline business, Sysco said in a press release. It is adding new commitments to prohibit the sale of endangered species, advance its traceability work, and help address deforestation.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

The science of sustainable seafood, explained

January 13, 2021 — The following was released by Sustainable Fisheries UW:

Commercial fishing is vital to global food production. Wild-caught fish contain every essential amino acid, require no land or freshwater, and are a renewable resource when managed sustainably. In addition to providing access to healthy, low-impact protein, the seafood industry is worth over a trillion dollars annually and employs 40 million people—ensuring its sustainability is vital to economies all over the world. We explain seafood industry regulations in our section on fishery management—but first, the fundamental key to understanding sustainable seafood is grasping the science of catching fish.

Fisheries are composed of fish stocks and the fishing fleet that catches them. A fish stock is simply a harvested population. It refers to one specific species in one particular place, like Gulf of Maine cod. A fishery is the intersection of a stock (or group of stocks) and the means of harvest. Fishing fleets can use several different methods to capture fish, each method describes the fishery and guides management.

A fishery is sustainable when the amount harvested does not compromise future harvests.

Fishery science is the process that answers that question, primarily through stock assessments. A stock assessment uses several different kinds of data to understand the health of a stock and determine how much can be fished. You can think of the data as the A,B,Cs of stock assessments – abundance, biology, and catch.

  • Abundance is how many fish are in the population; estimates of abundance are made based on samples that are gathered using various methods.
  • Sampling can also collect biological data such as: age and length from which we can estimate levels of natural mortality and fishing mortality. Together, these data help estimate the reproductive rate of a population, which in turn allows us to predict how many fish will be around next year.
    • During sampling, environmental data like temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and other ecological variables are also collected.
  • Catch data are our historical records of how many or what weight of fish was caught during a calendar year or a fishing season.

Read the full release here

Researchers offer approaches for the sustainable expansion of the U.S. seafood industry

January 8, 2021 — The “Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth,” issued by the Trump administration in May 2020, lays out a plan to expand the U.S. seafood industry, especially aquaculture, and enhance American seafood competitiveness in the global market.

The goals of the directive are focused largely on growth and expansion of the industry, which includes wild-caught fisheries and farm-raised products, as well as recreation, processing and other industries that rely on fishing.

“The seafood industry in general is worth about $200 billion and accounts for 2 million jobs in the United States,” said Halley E. Froehlich, a professor of fisheries and aquaculture at UC Santa Barbara, who with her colleagues finds that the executive order “ends up being a complicated and opaque ask,” given the complexity of the seafood industry and the headwinds it has been experiencing of late.

“We started having some deep conversations about policy implications and what they meant relative to some massive disruptions,” she said.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Joint Packard and Walton Family Foundation report identifies five key seafood sustainability focus areas

January 4, 2021 — A new report from the Packard and Walton Family Foundations has identified five key areas of focus that the seafood industry would need to build upon to develop demand in emerging sustainability markets in Latin America and Asia, Walton Family Foundation (WFF) Senior Program Officer Teresa Ish said during the Latin American Summit for Fishing and Aquaculture Sustainability.

Ish – who manages grants for WFF’s Environment Program, which leverages the power of the supply chain to advocate for more sustainable fisheries – was referring to the new report, “The Strategy Behind Sustainable Seafood Philanthropy – A Briefing for Industry from the Packard and Walton Family Foundations,” which was a joint evaluation of the two foundations’ Global Seafood Markets strategies. The report reviews the progress made over the past twenty years in the global sustainable seafood movement, and identifies the challenges that lie ahead.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seafood sustainability foundation reports most world tuna stocks in good shape

December 14, 2020 — About 87 percent of the worldwide commercial catch of tuna is coming from stocks seen at healthy levels of abundance, although some regional stocks including Pacific bluefin are overfished, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation says in a new status report.

Based on findings by regional fishery management organizations though October 2020, the summary by the foundation – a cooperative program involving scientists, the tuna industry, and the World Wildlife Fund – breaks down 10 percent of the world catch coming from overfished stocks and 3 percent from stocks “at an intermediate level of abundance.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Friend of the Sea revises aquaculture, fish welfare certification standards

December 11, 2020 — Milan, Italy-based nonprofit Friend of the Sea (FoS) is revising its Sustainable Aquaculture and Fish Welfare certification standards and their respective audit guidance, with the aim of strengthening sustainability and farm management criteria.

The revision process opened for public consultation on 4 December, 2020, with comment invited from stakeholders and interested parties until 1 February 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ISSF: IATTC Fails to Preserve Tuna Conservation and FAD Measures at Annual Meeting

December 8, 2020 — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The following release was updated on December 9, 2020 to reflect changes made by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

Last month, ISSF and its partners appealed to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) to, at a minimum, act to ensure its current measures on tuna conservation and management do not lapse and stay in place for 2021. ISSF outlined its science-based recommendations to IATTC in our position statement.

Unfortunately, IATTC ended its Nov. 30–Dec. 4 virtual Commission meeting without keeping crucial “status quo” measures in place:

Despite the clear scientific advice to, at a minimum, keep these provisions intact, the objection of one party blocked their extension. As a result, the sustainability of the region’s tropical tuna fisheries and marine ecosystems is now at risk.

IATTC’s inaction is a breakdown of its responsibility to ensure the long-term sustainable use of Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) tuna resources. In response to the Commission’s flagrant failings, ISSF urges all IATTC parties to exercise restraint and take the precautionary approach by voluntarily continuing to apply the previously in-effect provisions throughout 2021. Doing so will help keep fishing mortality at a level consistent with IATTC objectives.

ISSF calls upon IATTC to urgently organize an emergency session of the Commission early in 2021 to put in place binding conservation measures that will apply immediately.

We recognize that pandemic lockdowns and travel limitations have made substantive discussions and consensus-building especially difficult this year. But RFMOs and national governments will remain in this situation for the foreseeable future — and they need to adapt, as other organizations worldwide have, to the new reality. The virtual meeting format does not prevent or excuse them from ensuring detailed, inclusive discussions and taking decisive action to protect global tuna stocks and their marine ecosystems.

World’s biggest ocean sustainability initiative signed by 14 countries

December 2, 2020 — A new initiative designed to lessen humanity’s negative impacts on the world’s oceans has been signed by 14 countries.

Several of the countries belonging to the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, a consortium of ocean-dependent countries founded in 2018 to initiate action to improve global marine sustainability efforts, announced the Transformations for a Sustainable Ocean Economy: A Vision for Protection, Production and Prosperity initiative on Tuesday, 1 December.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

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