“Turning the Tide”
Posted on | October 22, 2009 | No Comments
Mark your calendars! The Monterey Bay Aquarium just released a report that will serve as a benchmark from which to measure progress of the sustainable seafood movement into the future. The report highlights where we are and where we’re going. For all you newbies to the movement, it also gives us tons of easy to understand information (with pictures) about the various components involved with sustainable seafood.
You may be familiar with the Aquarium’s Seafood Watch pocket guide to sustainable seafood with the green, yellow, and red categories. In the recently released report they talk about its growing success and other major trends in the sustainable seafood movement. Below is a list of the trends (in italics) and my commentary. Have you noticed any of the trends?
Despite the pervasiveness of overfishing, wild fisheries in some regions of the world are improving. Many countries are getting serious about improving the health of their fisheries, United States included. The use of economic incentives to prevent overfishing are becoming powerful tools in the fight to save the oceans. SOP will share more about these incentives in later posts.
People are increasingly carrying Seafood Watch consumer pocket guides and are willing to pay more for sustainable seafood. Next time you’re eating out with friends or family mention the Monterey Bay Aquarium seafood guide. There’s a good chance someone will chime in with their ‘favorite’ red species not to eat, like Chilean Sea Bass.
Fishery eco-certification is on the rise. There’s been a boom in certification of sustainable seafood and the labels to show it. The world’s most popular certification organization is the Marine Stewardship Council. You can walk into any Whole Foods and see their label on at least one seafood offering.
Environmental groups are teaming up to help businesses find solutions. In one of those ’strange bedfellows’ situations, seafood businesses are enlisting environmental groups to help improve their sustainability and their image. In one of the most high profile examples, Wal-Mart has committed to selling only Marine Stewardship Council certified sustainable seafood by 2011. The world’s largest public corporation is working with the World Wildlife Fund to make this happen.
Progressive companies are making responsible seafood purchasing the norm rather than the exception. A few visionary companies are incorporating sustainable seafood as a major component of their business plans. The business world is where the most change needs to happen. SOP will focus many future posts on this topic.
Sustainable seafood issues are increasingly making news. Amen! The New York Times and Washington Post have found room in their pages to focus on this critical issue. SOP would love to hear about other articles you come across.
Tags: fish > fisheries > fishery > Marine Stewardship Council > Monterey Bay Aquarium > ocean > overfished > seafood > Seafood Watch > sustainable > Wal-Mart > Whole Foods
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