The Fisheries Council of Canada, a trade group representing Canada’s wild-capture seafood industry, has issued a new guide to Canadian seafood geared toward Canadian consumers.
The guide, “Seafood, A Sustainable Superfood” is meant to be a “complete one-stop shop to demystify the process of buying and cooking sustainable Canadian seafood,” it said. It’s available to download for free from the FCC website.
“Part of building public trust in the Canadian seafood industry comes from arming consumers with the knowledge they need to source it, buy it and cook it at home,” FCC President Paul Lansbergen said in a press release. “By increasing consumer confidence in purchasing sustainable seafood, we can open the door for a surge of realization about how easy, delicious and nutritious it can be.”
The guide includes information on species and common names of Canadian seafood; farmed and wild-caught seafood; product origin labels; fish fraud in Canadian retail outlets; sustainability certifications and eco-labels; indicators of quality and freshness in live, fresh, frozen and shelf-stable products; recipe ideas; portion sizes; and cost per serving.
FCC is promoting the guide with a “Supporting Sustainable Seafood: Where Do I Start?” digital marketing campaign on social media at @FisheriesCA, and through partnerships with seafood scientist Emily De Sousa and seafood chef Charlotte Langley. The group is encouraging the use of the guide to promote the purchase of sustainable Canadian seafood.
Separately, the FCC and the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance have issued a joint statement urging the Canadian government to adopt the federal government’s Blue Economy Strategy. In a press release FCC President Paul Lansbergen and CAIA President and CEO Timothy Kennedy said the government’s approval of the initiative will “secure affordable Canadian food, jobs in rural and coastal communities, and a domestic food supply of low-carbon, healthy seafood.”
“Canada's sustainable seafood sector needs the same kind of policy support that we see for our domestic agriculture sector. We need a pragmatic, federal vision to grow the sector and drive innovation and investment in this key blue economy opportunity for rural, coastal, and Indigenous communities. A rigorous, science-based approach to sustainability and a commitment to job creation and economic growth is necessary,” they wrote.
Lansbergen and Kennedy said they were encouraged by the government’s issuance of a recent response paper to the public feedback it received on the plan.
“We are happy to see some of our recommendations included in this report, such as the need for a federal champion and a growth plan with targets, but what is missing is a pathway to identify the next steps, clarify the priority areas, and focus on the economic opportunity before us,” they said. “Canada has the greatest potential in the world to grow our seafood sector. The seafood sector is the core of the Blue Economy, with close to 100,000 jobs. Throughout the COVID period, Canadian seafood producers were identified as ‘essential workers’ and continued to deliver seafood to Canadians. Now with further global instability, we need to move quickly on this essential food opportunity and capitalize on growing the value of the sector. Our vision and action plan can help move to the next level of job creation and secure healthy and sustainable food for Canadians and the world.”
Photo courtesy of Harry Beugelink/Shutterstock
