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Fishing
Sustainable Seafood
Salmon from the MSC-certified Alaska salmon fishery on sale at British retailer Sainsbury’s
© Andy Aitchison
Securing sustainable fisheries and healthy marine ecosystems is only possible by working with the fishing industry. WWF is seeking to significantly increase the involvement of major seafood-related businesses in fisheries conservation activities through its Common Vision partnership, Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SSI), community fisheries program and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and the Aquaculture Dialogues.
Common Vision
World Wildlife Fund is one of more than a dozen U.S. and Canadian organizations that released steps companies can take to develop and implement a comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainable, wild-caught and farmed seafood. The “Common Vision for Environmentally Sustainable Seafood” highlights a clear path for achieving sustainability in the seafood industry.
WWF is committed to working collaboratively with industry players to promote sustainable seafood, from sustainable fishing and responsible aquaculture, to protect the ocean and ensure a continued supply of seafood into the future.
The Common Vision identifies six critical areas where companies can take action to ensure a sustainable seafood supply and protect ocean environments:
- Making a commitment to develop and implement a comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainable seafood
- Collecting data to assess and monitor the environmental sustainability of their seafood products
- Buying environmentally responsible seafood
- Making information regarding their seafood products publicly available
- Educating their consumers, suppliers, employees and other key stakeholders about environmentally responsible seafood
- Engaging in and supporting policy and management changes that lead to positive environmental outcomes in fisheries and aquaculture
For more information on the Common Vision visit the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions
Sustainable Seafood Initiative
To engage seafood-related businesses, the SSI approach consists of understanding the sustainability status of a company’s source fisheries and working collaboratively in these fisheries to effect transformational change on the water to be consistent with the sustainability standards of the MSC.
As fishing is only one part of the picture from the ocean to the consumers’ plate, WWF is working at points along the entire value chain within the whole Seafood Sector. As WWF continues to develop and solidify relationships with additional major seafood buyers, it is actively seeking to leverage fishery improvement opportunities.
WWF Community Fisheries Program and the MSC
The world's seas have sustained and nurtured humanity for thousands of years. But today we are plundering the blue planet in a manner one observer has likened to the last buffalo hunt.
WWF’s Community Fisheries Program helps small-scale fisheries through the MSC certification process. Through the development of an environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries, the MSC seeks to harness consumer purchasing power to generate change and promote environmentally responsible stewardship of the world’s fisheries.
The MSC, a certification holding body, was founded in 1997 by Unilever and WWF to promote responsible fishing practices worldwide. Two years ago, Alaska's salmon fishery was the first in the U.S. to meet the MSC's environmental standards. Several more fisheries on the west coast and in Alaska will carry the eco-label very soon. Check www.msc.org to see the latest news on your favorite fish!
In order for fish products to obtain the MSC label, they must come from well-managed fisheries that maintain healthy fish stocks and preserve surrounding ecosystems. More than 100 major seafood businesses, fishing groups and conservation organizations now back the independent, nonprofit council, so consumers will have more opportunity to support fisheries that help protect our environment. If your local supermarket doesn't stock MSC products, ask them to do so. And if they do, let us know so we can thank them.
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Aquaculture Dialogues
Through the Aquaculture Dialogues, WWF is working with industry leaders and other stakeholders to develop standards that will minimize the key environmental and social impacts associated with aquaculture.
The goal of the Dialogues is to create standards for 12 aquaculture species by the end of 2010. The standards will be given to a new standards-holding entity that will use third party auditors to certify farms.
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