Saving Seafood

Oceana Issues Statement On Netflix’s ‘Seaspiracy’ Documentary

March 29, 2021 — As compelling as Netflix’s new “Seaspiracy” documentary is, the issues raised in it regarding commercial fishing aren’t quite that cut-and-dried, according to the folks at Oceana.

The ocean advocacy organization issued a statement when the film was released on March 24th. It reads:

“Today, Netflix released a new movie titled Seaspiracy that features passing references to Oceana and a brief excerpt from what was a two-hour interview with a former employee, who was one of Oceana’s key leaders in winning policy victories against illegal fishing.

“To set the record straight, what Oceana campaigns for and focuses on is increasing ocean abundance through policy victories that put in place science-based fisheries management in national waters, where most of the world’s fish are caught. We are already campaigning in countries that account for 28% of the world’s catch. The science is clear: This country-by-country approach can help the oceans rebound dramatically and feed a billion people a healthy seafood meal each day. We can save the oceans and feed the world.

“We believe people have the right to choose what they eat, and we applaud those who make personal choices to improve the health of our planet. However, choosing to abstain from consuming seafood is not a realistic choice for the hundreds of millions of people around the world who depend on coastal fisheries – many of whom are also facing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Oceana campaigns to save the oceans for both the people who depend on them and to protect the marine animals (and other forms of life) who live in them.

Read the full story at Deeper Blue

Global Tuna Alliance, others introduce 2025 Pledge towards Sustainable Tuna

March 22, 2021 — The Global Tuna Alliance, Friends of Ocean Action, and the World Economic Forum have introduced the 2025 Pledge towards Sustainable Tuna (25PST), a new global commitment supporting responsible global tuna fisheries management and harvesting.

The three organizations are inviting businesses throughout the tuna supply chain, governments, and civil society organizations committed to sustainable tuna to sign onto the pledge, which calls for signatories to commit to working towards a global tuna sector that meets the highest standards of environmental performance and social responsibility through demonstrable improvements in supply chain practices and fisheries management.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC aims to increase activity and drive sustainable fishing in Mexico

February 25, 2021 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) plans to increase its presence and activities in Mexico, rolling out a strategic plan for the creation of a community of producers and commercial partners, while also implementing a communications campaign on the importance of sustainable fishing and the benefits of getting certified.

To increase environmental stewardship in Mexico’s fishing industry, MSC will work with key industry players to drive its chain of custody certification and its eco-labeling program of certified products in stores, which allows consumers to recognize fisheries that use resources rationally with a minimized impact on the ecosystem. and reward those fisheries with their purchases.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC Launches Commercial Strategy for Mexico

February 19, 2021 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an independent international non-profit organization that helps protect the oceans around the world, announced that it will increase its presence and activities in Mexico to empower the fishing industry. It will do so with key players of the industry and based on its chain of custody certification along with their “eco-labeling” program of certified products in stores, to help protect the environment and ensure seafood for the current and future generations of the country.

The MSC has shown with success stories around the world that the dilemma between caring for the environment and promoting business development is false. What you have to do is fish in another way. Make a sustainable, certified fishing and bet on a green economic recovery. The value proposition of the organization that makes the above possible consists of aligning the interests of the industry with the care of the environment through a system of certification of good practices and an “eco-label”. This scheme allows the consumer to recognize and reward with their purchase decision those fisheries that make a rational use of fishery resources and that minimize their impact on the ecosystem. Currently 15% of world catches have benefited from the association’s certifications.

Read the full release here

Friend of the Sea calls on COFI to address regulation of sustainable seafood claims

February 9, 2021 — The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations’ Committee on Fisheries (COFI) met this month for its 34th session, covering topics relating to the state of the world’s sustainable fisheries and aquaculture operations.

A subsidiary body of the FAO, COFI is the only inter-governmental forum where FAO members convene to review and consider the global issues and challenges related to fisheries and aquaculture, according to the body’s website. The collective provides periodic global recommendations and policy advice, such as its Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

UNIDO Joins GSSI

January 28, 2021 — The following was released by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative:

Did you know that the seafood sector supports the livelihoods of 13% of the world’s population? As seafood production increases to meet rising global demand, so have concerns over the environmental, economic and social impact of production worldwide.

To help strengthen joint efforts to promote sustainable production and consumption in seafood industry the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has joined the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) as an Affiliated Partner.

As the public-private partnership on seafood sustainability with more than 90 stakeholders industry-wide, the GSSI aligns global efforts and resources to address seafood sustainability challenges. The GSSI aims to ensure clarity, confidence and choice in the supply and promotion of certified seafood as well as to promote improvements in seafood certification schemes.

Bernardo Calzadilla, Managing Director of UNIDO’s Digitalization, Technology and Agri-Business Directorate (DTA), said, “UNIDO very much values the cooperation with GSSI and the Food and Agriculture Organization in this innovative approach to promote sustainable fisheries development, and to increase its long-term contribution to securing better livelihoods in producer communities and to protecting the natural environment.”

As a specialized agency of the United Nations with 170 member states, UNIDO has a long record of building trade-related capacities through a three-pillar approach: enhancing the capacity of producers, processors and entire value chains to comply with technical and sustainability standards and market requirements; strengthening national quality infrastructure (NQI) and its services, in particular for testing and certification; and fostering a culture of quality.

Read the full release here

Compass Group PLC Joins GSSI

January 20, 2021 — The following was released by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative:

The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative is pleased to announce that food service company Compass Group has joined GSSI as a Funding Partner.

Compass Group is a global leader in food services and provides great food and support services to millions of people around the world, every day. The group is committed to maintaining a strong agenda on sourcing responsibly.

“Compass are committed to buying more and more sustainably sourced fish and seafood from supply chains that are resilient and operated responsibly. Our goal is for 50% of our fish and seafood to be certified sustainable. In 2020, we reached this goal across our top 10 countries, and are now working to achieve the same across all of our top 20 countries. GSSI brings much needed clarity around the various global certification schemes and their equivalence, enabling consistent and lasting positive impact for the industry, both environmentally and socially. Our new partnership with GSSI will help us accelerate progress towards achieving our goal,” said Chris McCrystal, Global Head of Food Safety & Responsible Sourcing, Compass Group PLC.

Read the full release here

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