Seafood is one of the most globally traded food commodities, and demand for it continues to rise. As a result, levels of fishing in many areas of the world are becoming increasingly unsustainable, and the list of endangered marine and freshwater species grows ever longer. Companies are increasingly willing to work with governments and conservation groups to shift the seafood market toward more sustainable and responsible sourcing. At the same time, though, some companies have yet to ban endangered species from their supply chains—a bare minimum requirement on the path to sustainability.
Three years into Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, The Bahamas lobster fishery reports greater resilience, increased local awareness, and reinforced collaboration. The fishery continues to harness the benefits of this important milestone to help preserve its classic turquoise coastline, thriving corals and seagrasses, and colorful marine species that are the staples of this paradisiac Caribbean archipelago.
“Despite the pandemic hardship, the fishery was able to maintain its international markets and continue to support well-needed livelihoods for the fishing community”, explains Mia Isaacs, President of The Bahamas Marine Exporters Association (BMEA) which holds the MSC certificate and is a key actor in helping the fishery achieve certification. “We can clearly see the positive impact of MSC certification across stakeholders, fishers, and partners that work together more effectively and are more aware of the importance of sustainable fishing practices”, she adds.
Mars Petcare and World Wildlife Fund announced the extension of their longstanding collaboration on seafood sustainability for an additional five years to continue leveraging the company’s influence on global seafood markets. The two partners will build on the mutual work of the past decade to drive further positive change across the seafood industry.
As the first global pet food company to make a public commitment towards sourcing more sustainable fish back in 2010, Mars will work together with WWF through 2025 to improve the environmental and social impacts of the company’s seafood supply chains and the seafood sector more broadly across four major workstreams: Wild-caught seafood, including the financial support of Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs); farmed seafood; addressing Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing; and ensuring better traceability.
Bristol Bay, Alaska is one the most pristine ecosystems in North America and home to the iconic sockeye salmon species. For nearly two decades, a national coalition of Alaskan Natives, commercial fishermen, conservation groups and other actors have been fighting to save Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine. Although the developer’s permit was denied and the project paused in 2020, large-scale mining continues to be a risk. Today, your business can provide permanent protection for what is often called America’s fish basket.
Bristol Bay is synonymous with commercial fisheries, but without permanent protection from projects like the Pebble Mine Bristol Bay’s future is at risk, creating economic uncertainty for salmon supply-chains and businesses. Over the last few years, major retailers and businesses in the seafood supply chain have stepped up to engage and voice their support for protecting Bristol Bay, including Publix, Whole Foods Market, Hy-Vee, Orca Bay Foods, Seattle Fish Co, Silver Bay Seafoods, and Pacific Seafood Processors Association, among others.
Fish bring life to our planet and connect us all to our shared oceans. Even in the most turbulent times, we find ways to maintain that connection and work toward a better future with our corporate partners across the seafood industry. That was especially true over the last year.
The pandemic disrupted seafood-related business in a multitude of ways, and while some of the chaos has been a shared experience, each business faced their own personal and unique challenges. So how do we take stock in a moment like this to see if we’re still on track to meet shared seafood sustainability goals? Looking at specific areas of work is a good place to start, particularly those areas where we’re able to work together while apart.
Seafood buyers are increasingly looking for ways to understand and reduce the environmental risks in their supply chains, notably in shrimp aquaculture. A new Coastal Habitat Mapping Tool by Clark Labs provides insights regarding habitat conversion which might answer that. Combining high quality satellite imagery and expert geospatial analysis, Clark Labs’ aquaculture mapping tool offers a look at historical landscape changes for critical wetlands habitats, including mangroves, and aquaculture pond cover in major shrimp exporting countries around the world.
Following more than a decade of collaboration on sustainable seafood, Sysco Corporation and WWF are excited to announce the company’s 2025 seafood sustainability commitments and renewed partnership on more sustainable seafood sourcing. The new commitments build on past success and continue to advance Sysco’s position as a global leader on seafood sustainability, set high standards for the seafood industry, establish long-term sustainability goals, and build consumer trust.
From pond to shelf, farmed shrimp goes through a complex supply chain made up of thousands of actors. Data about its farm and country of origin, species, embedded environmental impact, and conditions of production can be easily lost along the way. Compelled by consumer and investor demand for better transparency, retailers are beginning to realize the need for full end-to-end traceability systems to ensure they can track products and feed ingredients back to their source.
When Hyatt first deployed its global sustainable seafood goal in 2014, creating a culture of awareness around the issue of seafood sustainability was one of the primary objectives. At Hyatt, as with many global hoteliers, the purchasing of seafood is decentralized. Hyatt-branded hotels rely on their chefs and purchasing teams around the world, independently working with menu planners, suppliers, and communities to advance the sustainability of the seafood they offer their guests. By looking for certified products and working with supply chains to transition fisheries and aquaculture farms to more sustainable, responsible practices, Hyatt hotels and resorts push to increase both the quality and quantity of more sustainable seafood available around the world.
The Kroger Co., one of the world’s major food retailers, is one of the largest US supporters of Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) and driving change on the water by encouraging global fisheries to adopt more sustainable practices. Since the beginning of its partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 2009, Kroger has engaged in 43 unique FIPs working to improve global seafood supply chains and communities that depend on them.
RECENT NEWS
- Diving into the Sustainable Blue Economy
- Sysco Shows Strong Progress towards New 2025 Seafood Commitments
- World Wildlife Fund and Amyris Team Up to Leverage Science to Protect Sharks
- WWF and ASC Unify Supply Chain Actors at Farmed Salmon and Feed Workshop and Summit in Chile
- Kroger Continues to Advance its Seafood Sustainability Credentials
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