Fresh Seafood

Seafood Buyers Go Green

Seafood Buyers Go Green (daybreak)
Published: February 14, 2007

A recent CNN report brings to light movements by several big business icons towards basing seafood buying decision making on ethical, conservation and environmental issues. The CNN report mentions the Seafood Choices Alliance which describes itself as

"a trade association that brings together green groups and business......Seafood Choices Alliance would like consumers to make what they call "the ocean-plate connection" - that is, to be aware that their choices have environmental consequences. The group also targets chefs and restaurants because, according to Boots, more fish in the U.S. is eaten in restaurants than prepared at home"

The Seafood Choices Alliance website states........ "the Alliance helps the seafood industry – from fishermen and fish farmers to distributors, wholesalers, retailers and restaurants – to make the seafood marketplace environmentally and economically sustainable.

Another organization involved is the Marine Stewardship Council, self described as

"an independent, global, non-profit organisation with its head office based in London, UK. In a bid to reverse the continued decline in the world's fisheries, the MSC is seeking to harness consumer purchasing power to generate change and promote environmentally responsible stewardship of the world's most important renewable food source.

The MSC has developed an environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. It uses a product label to reward environmentally responsible fishery management and practices. Consumers, concerned about overfishing and its environmental and social consequences will increasingly be able to choose seafood products which have been independently assessed against the MSC Standard and labelled to prove it. This will assure them that the product has not contributed to the environmental problem of overfishing."

This story comes to light as numerous sources are reporting on cases where seafood suppliers are finding that the items they carry are may mislabeled. The most noted being cases of fish sold as snapper which has been found to actually be several other species of fish.