May 13, 2008

North American groups to release joint vision for sustainable seafood

SeaChoice, Canada's sustainable seafood programme, and its five member organizations, has joined nine US environmental groups in releasing the "Common Vision for Environmentally Sustainable Seafood".

These organizations, all of which had a strong history in working with the seafood industry and policy makers, have joined forces to form the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions.

The Common Vision outlines steps companies can take to develop and implement a comprehensive policy on sustainable, wild-caught and farmed seafood.

The initiative arose as the the organisation is acting on feedback from companies that there is too much competing information about environmentally responsible seafood, according to Jennifer Lash from the Living Oceans Society."Seafood buyers and suppliers now have consistent input from a broad range of conservation groups about how to move forward."

The Common Vision identifies six areas companies can act on, such as making a commitment to develop and implement a comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainable seafood; collecting data to assess the environmental sustainability of their products and buying environmentally responsible seafood.

Companies also have to make information regarding their seafood products publicly available and educate their consumers, suppliers, employees about environmentally responsible seafood. Lastly, they also have to  engage in and support policy and management changes that lead to positive environmental outcomes in fisheries and aquaculture.
 

The SeaChoice groups would work with the seafood industry, particularly large retailers that market seafood, to find ways ensuring sustainable seafood is standard fare in the marketplace, according to Bill Wareham of the David Suzuki Foundation.