October 21, 2010

EU seafood companies join AIPCE-CEP for responsible fish sourcing

Processors and traders of all forms of fish in the European Union (EU) have joined hands for responsible fish sourcing for the first time under the EU Fish Processors and Traders Association (AIPCE-CEP).

The group has introduced a new risk assessment method to determine a Europe-wide sourcing standard for both wild caught and farmed seafood, offering guidelines for fish processing firms to engage with suppliers for environmentally responsible fish sourcing.

This common risk based approach will help AIPCE-CEP members and others direct their upstream seafood supply chains. The document, "Principles for Environmentally Responsible Fish Sourcing," was taken on by all AIPCE-CEP member associations at their General Assembly in Lisbon last week, and is available for free from the association's website.

A sequence of commitments beginning with cooperation to use the companies' shared experience and promote best practices is included in the principles. AIPCE-CEP members and others can use the procedure as a common language and a common platform to decide on their rules of engagement, as an agent for change as they support environmentally responsible fish sourcing.

AIPCE-CEP came together in response to the lowered abundance, ecological harm, and slashed biodiversity in various marine ecosystems in the face of increasing fish consumption in the EU. Although aquaculture supports much of this escalation, wild stocks still play a main role, and thus the companies involved intend to work towards eradicating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in all sectors including fishmeal and fish oil with traceability as a key control mechanism.

The companies will use the document to risk assess and classify fisheries and fish farms, but ultimately each company will decide on its own policy decisions.

At the same time, AIPCE-CEP will continue to support the adoption of certification standards set by bodies such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Global GAP, and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF).

"We have long prioritised seafood sustainability with our Fish for Life programme and so the adoption of a new AIPCE-wide collaborative approach on this issue is a very welcome development," said Stephen Parry, technical advisor of the Findus Group, an AIPCE-CEP member. "The new guidelines give all major European seafood processors a shared tool and language for what constitutes as responsible sourcing which in turn creates a common platform to guide decisions and help processors collaborate more effectively as agents for change."

Although the document covers environmental responsibility - spanning issues such as carbon footprint, energy and water usage, and waste reduction - it does not include matters of food safety and social compliance.