WWF works with companies to help ensure compliance with national and international laws and regulations. To verify sustainable and responsible practices, and to reduce risk – including exposure to legal, financial and reputational risks associated with illegal labor and production – seafood companies should have systems in place to trace their products through their supply chains back to the fishing vessel, farming location, and feed source. Implementing robust traceability systems in supply chains makes it possible to obtain reliable information about many of the fundamental characteristics and qualities of seafood products. WWF’s traceability principles can be used as a benchmark for a variety of traceability systems. For certified product, WWF recommends companies and their suppliers, at a minimum, obtain MSC and ASC Chain of Custody (CoC) certification, to establish a verifiable connection back to a sustainable fishery or responsible farm.

Unsustainable agriculture and aquaculture practices present immediate environmental, social and economic threats. The conversion of forests and mangroves for ponds harms wildlife, pollutes water and heats the atmosphere. Companies should work to remove habitat conversion from their supply chains, including feed—and can start by sourcing from ASC-certified farms and supporting aquaculture improvement projects. ASC’s shrimp standard is the only one that prohibits habitat conversion.

WWF’s original mission has been to protect endangered species. Buying and selling such species contributes to their extinction; it can also have significant legal and reputational consequences.

WWF identifies species of concern using IUCN and CITES assessments:

• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species where species are categorized from greatest extinction risk to least concern.
• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, or CITES, is a Global agreement between governments to follow rules to monitor, regulate or ban international trade in species under threat.

WWF has identified additional endangered species that have not been assessed by IUCN or listed on CITES that are typically relevant to specific regions around the world. On a case-by-case basis, WWF may recommend an MSC or ASC certified option even if the species is listed as endangered.

By eliminating seafood loss and waste throughout their supply chains, companies can effectively increase productivity, increase seafood availability, reduce pressure on natural resources, and decrease price volatility throughout the seafood supply chain.

Globally, an estimated 35% of seafood is lost or wasted. Regionally, this ranges from 30% to upwards of 50% and is significantly higher in developed countries, with as much as 47% of seafood lost or wasted in the U.S.

WWF is developing new strategies with industry leaders to reduce post-harvest loss of seafood throughout the supply chain, while recommending that companies assess and address any loss and waste within their operations and engage their suppliers to do the same.