Canadian and U.S. Conservation Community Invites Retail Businesses to Move Forward on Sustainable Seafood Initiatives

By: David Suzuki Foundation


(Halifax, Vancouver) SeaChoice, Canada’s sustainable seafood program, and its five member organizations, joined nine U.S. environmental groups today in releasing the “Common Vision for Environmentally Sustainable Seafood”. These organizations- which all have a strong history of working with the seafood industry and policymakers- have partnered to form the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions.

The Common Vision outlines realistic steps companies can take to develop and implement a comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainable, wild-caught and farmed seafood. This initiative provides businesses that buy and sell seafood with a clear path for moving ahead with sustainable seafood purchasing.

“In the past, we’ve heard from companies that there is too much competing information about environmentally responsible seafood”, said Jennifer Lash from the Living Oceans Society. “Seafood buyers and suppliers now have consistent input from a broad range of
conservation groups about how to move forward”.

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;and
Engaging in and supporting policy and management changes that lead to positive environmental outcomes in fisheries and aquaculture.

“The SeaChoice groups are committed to working collaboratively with the seafood industry, particularly large retailers that market seafood, to find ways ensuring sustainable seafood is standard fare in the marketplace”, said Bill Wareham of the David Suzuki Foundation.

For more information on SeaChoice or to download a copy of Canada’s Business Guide to Sustainable Seafood, please visit www.seachoice.org. For more information about the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions and the “Common Vision for
Environmentally Sustainable Seafood,” visit www.solutionsforseafood.org.

Jennifer Lash
Executive Director
Living Oceans Society
Tel: 250-973-6580

Bill Wareham
Senior Conservation Specialist
The David Suzuki Foundation
Tel: 604-740-0999

Colin Campbell
Marine Campaign Coordinator
Sierra Club B.C.
Tel: 250.386-5255 ext. 236

Anna Magera
Sustainable Seafood Coordinator
Ecology Action Centre
Tel: 902.442.0999

Sabine Jessen
Conservation Director, National Director of Oceans and Freshwater Lakes
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
Tel: 604.685.7445

source: David Suzuki Foundation