Industry Engagement Archives - WWF Seafood Sustainability

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Category: Industry Engagement

Nov

Steering the World Towards Traceable Seafood Supply Chains

Over the past three years, WWF has helped lead the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) to help establish the first-ever comprehensive industry standards for seafood traceability. With more than five dozen companies from around the world and across seafood supply chains sitting at the table, the GDST is drafting standards that will dramatically improve the efficiency, reliability, and affordability of tracking seafood, helping businesses obtain and share the information they need about the origins of seafood products. That will lead to more transparent and reliable seafood supply chains, as consumers increasingly demand and as governments increasingly require.

Oct

FIP Updates Straight to Your Inbox

Are you a FisheryProgress subscriber who follows fishery improvement project (FIP)? Can’t wait to see how your favorite FIPs are coming along? If so, you’re in luck! If so, you will soon receive the latest updates directly to your inbox. Starting October 31st, users following FIPs listed on FisheryProgress will receive monthly emails highlighting major changes in those FIPs.

Sep

Nicaraguan Spiny Lobster FIP Approaching MSC Certification: US Companies Helping Preserve the Nicaraguan “Queen”

Despite the acute political situation in 2018, which left Nicaragua on its knees both socially and economically, the resilient fishing communities together with the government continued to prioritize the preservation of the spiny lobster, and to drive it towards Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification with the active support of WWF and its corporate partners in the US.

Aug

Think Twice Before Sourcing These Endangered Species: This WWF Guide Helps You Decide Responsibly

Do you know what seafood you are serving at your restaurant? Can you accurately tell apart the species displayed at your supermarket? Are you certain there are no at-risk fish or crustaceans in your supply chain? Think twice, before sourcing certain types of seafood. They might be one or more of the 400 endangered marine species linked to human consumption.

Several endangered marine species continue to make their way to the global market. With fragmented and weakly regulated supply chains and the near impossibility to identify species once processed, seafood buyers are faced with the daunting task of accurately selecting and responsibly sourcing their products. Fortunately, WWF has developed a simplified and practical guide identifying endangered species most commonly found in seafood supply chains and offering recommendations to help companies make informed choices in procuring seafood.

Jul

Hyatt Reaches Industry-Leading Global Seafood Sustainability Target

As a global hospitality brand, Hyatt has more than 850 properties in 60 countries across six continents. Brands with vast international portfolios, like Hyatt, can use their influence to source seafood that is sustainably caught or responsibly farmed to benefit the environment and local communities in which they operate, and preserve the natural resources that support their business.

At WWF, working with large multinational businesses to transition supply chains to more responsible operations helps support food systems that better conserve nature and feed the world. Since 2012, Hyatt has worked with WWF to increase its sustainable seafood offering throughout its global operations

Jul

Two Major Salmon Producers Pick-Up the WWF Call

Encouraged by long term WWF efforts, two of Chile’s leading salmon farming companies have announced, early June, their intention to discontinue all activities in the southern lakes of the country.

Los Fiordos, one of the major salmon producers, had previously suspended all operations in this freshwater system. Following their merger with Aquachile, they decided to maintain this commitment, and have publicly announced their move out of the lakes. A pledge that was matched by another key producer, Multiexport, which will also cease all production in the area by 2020.

May

Four Years of Our European Sustainability Journey with Thai Union

Just over four years ago, WWF-UK kicked off a new and ambitious business partnership, collaborating with the seafood company Thai Union, with the shared aim of improving the environmental sustainability of seafood supply chains in Europe.

Our journey started with the signing of WWF’s Seafood Charter, which contains a set of principles and steps aimed at guiding the industry towards tackling key challenges, including ensuring seafood is traceable, increasing transparency and implementing projects to reduce the impact of fishing practices on the environment. Thai Union’s sustainability commitments have since grown with the launch of their global SeaChange® sustainability strategy, through which the company has committed to source its branded tuna from fisheries that are either Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified or engaged in fishery improvement projects aimed at meeting the MSC.

May

Industry Bands Together in Support of Collapsing Crab Fisheries

Picture this: it’s summertime and you are enjoying a plate of Old Bay-smothered crab cakes at a seaside restaurant in Maryland. You might assume that the crab meat on your plate was sourced locally, considering the blue crab is a well-known Maryland symbol, and a powerful icon of much of the mid-Atlantic region. Pre-1990s, that assumption would most likely be correct. The Chesapeake blue crab fishery was the most valuable fishery in the Bay at the time and it met most of the demand for the species in the region. In fact, until the 1990s, most crab meat consumed in the United States came from domestic sources. This all changed when the major domestic blue crab fisheries, like those in the Chesapeake Bay, were overfished to the brink of collapse – in large part due to a lack of sustainable fishery management.

Apr

Royal Caribbean Sources ASC Certified Salmon That Helps Protect Critical Ecosystems and Support Local Communities in Chile

Southern Chile’s pristine waters also support one of the largest farmed-salmon production hubs, supplying almost a third of all farmed salmon globally. The salmon industry in Chile employs more than 70,000 people with annual exports of more than $4 billion USD.

Seafood farming, or aquaculture, is one solution to help meet growing consumer demand for seafood products as 93% of wild fish stocks are fished to capacity or overfished and no longer able to support higher catches. Aquaculture may help alleviate pressure on wild fisheries, but farming practices can pose threats – like sea lice, microbial infections, antibiotic discharge, and other diseases – to delicately-balanced surrounding environments if operations are not managed responsibly.

The good news is that by implementing best practices seafood farming can be done more safely and with less impact on the environment and on local communities and workers.

Feb

Iberostar Launches Development of Sustainable Seafood Program in Partnership with WWF

Today, nearly 93% of fisheries around the globe are overfished or fished to their ecological limit. The status of global fish stocks presents a major cause for concern, as we strive to feed the appetite of a growing population while also protecting our planet’s natural resources.

At World Wildlife Fund (WWF), working with multinational businesses around the world helps to drive more sustainable food systems that both conserve nature and feed humanity. Currently, WWF is partnered with over 100 leading companies, globally, working to transition seafood supply chains to become more sustainable, responsible and traceable. Hospitality is a global market – and hotels provide a unique opportunity to support local fisheries and the communities where properties are embedded. That’s why we’ve partnered with Iberostar Hotels & Resorts to continue to propel the global hotelier towards a more responsible, sustainable seafood supply chain that also supports local communities transitioning to more responsible, sustainable practices.

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