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WASHINGTON, DC, April 16, 2009 – World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today announced a partnership agreement with SYSCO, the nation’s largest foodservice distributor, to develop a strategy for responsibly-sourced seafood.  Under the agreement, WWF will assess the sourcing of SYSCO’s top 10 branded seafood species and work with the company to develop strategies that build on its efforts to move towards sustainable seafood sourcing.  Implementation of the strategy will be addressed during the second phase of the partnership.  SYSCO is also a supporter of the multi-stakeholder roundtables, called Aquaculture Dialogues, which WWF coordinates and will provide financial support for the shrimp and salmon Dialogues.  

As a key component in the implementation phase of the partnership, WWF will engage SYSCO in its Sustainable Seafood Initiative, which focuses on making the trade and harvesting of seafood more sustainable. WWF will work collaboratively with SYSCO’s source fisheries to effect a change in practices across the supply chain and encourage these fisheries to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability standards.

Through the Aquaculture Dialogues, WWF and more than 2,000 other stakeholders are developing standards that will minimize the negative environmental and social impacts associated with aquaculture.

“Securing responsible fisheries and healthy marine ecosystems is only possible by working with the fishing and aquaculture industries along their entire seafood supply chain,” said Bill Fox, vice president and managing director of WWF's fisheries program. “We are excited to work with SYSCO to identify tangible, ambitious strategies that will help lead the industry to more sustainable seafood sourcing practices.”

Through its Sustainable Seafood Initiative for wild-catch fisheries, support for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and organization of the Aquaculture Dialogues, WWF is actively engaged in the Common Vision partnership of North American non-governmental organizations for sustainable seafood.

 For more information on WWF’s sustainable seafood work, visit: http://worldwildlife.org/waveforward/sustainableSeafood.html