Thank you for joining us for The Tradex Foods "3-Minute Sustainability Recap"
A summary of hot news items in sustainability – for seafood purchasers and industry.
The following information is a rundown of key sustainability news items for the month
of October.
------First up, the number of retailers committed to sustainable seafood keeps on growing:
Target announced that it will only sell sustainable and traceable seafood by 2015.
And the first African retailer – Pick n Pay –- has made a similar commitment.
Pick n Pay is South Africa’s second largest retailer.
And finally, the infamous Pike Place Market in Seattle will be dropping their iconic mascot
– the monkfish – along with other unsustainable species as a part of their new policy to source
only sustainable seafood.
------Next up – Russia made some headlines in seafood sustainability this month:
The World Wildlife Fund - and Fisheries Holding Karat have agreed to develop educational programs
on sustainable fisheries.
The aim is to increase knowledge amongst fishing crew members and fishing companies of sustainable
fisheries and the requirements for environmental certification according to the MSC.
And, McDonalds is considering the launch of a Pollock processing factory in Russia.
The factory would produce filet-of-fish sandwiches out of Alaska Pollock sourced from MSC-Certified
fisheries in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.
This is contingent on the Russian fisheries obtaining the MSC eco-label.
And in Germany, two supermarket chains have launched campaigns to promote sustainable
seafood:
Kaufland is supporting traditional tonguesole fishing in Gambia.
For every kg of MSC certified fish sold during the 4 week campaign, 50 euro cents will be
donated to the African fishery to help improve the situation of fishermen in Gambia who hope
to be certified against the MSC standard.
And, EDEKA supermarkets – is working with MSC on a campaign that features high impact
point-of-sale materials to promote MSC products.
This is the first joint-MSC in-store supermarket campaign that encourages shoppers to look
for the eco-label.
------Next up,
The California Academy of Sciences is showcasing Safeway's leadership in seafood sustainability
as part of the Academy's "Science in Action" video exhibit.
The video highlights innovative ways that researchers, retailers and environmental groups
are harvesting seafood without jeopardizing the health of the ecosystems from which it
was caught.
And, a study conducted by the University of British Columbia found that Peru ranks first
in terms of sustainable fisheries.
Peru’s program includes individual catch quotas, a GPS ship tracking system and inspectors
at every factory.
------And finally, a quick update on the Marine Stewardship Council:
Big Y – one of the largest supermarket chains in New England recently obtained MSC Chain
of Custody Certification.
The Zhangzidao Scallop fishery has become the first Chinese fishery to enter full assessment
for MSC certification.
The fishery uses diving and dredging methods to produce 60,000 metric of Yesso Scallops
each year.
And finally, the Fogo Island coldwater Shrimp off the coast of Newfoundland has obtained
MSC certification.
------Thank you for joining me for The Tradex Foods
"3-Minute Sustainability Recap" This is Ryan McKay - “BUY SMART” and “EAT
MORE SEAFOOD”