SeafoodSource is closely following the sustainable seafood movement and is compiling a regular round-up of sector updates pertaining to sustainability initiatives.
- The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) joined the National Women, Infants, and Children Association (NWA) as a small business partner. The partnership supports NFI’s efforts to advocate for and strengthen the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
“Seafood is a renowned superfood, and anything we can do to ensure communities at nutritional risk have access to it is important,” NFI President and CEO Lisa Wallenda Picard said in a release. “Affordable, shelf stable staples like canned salmon are part of the program and provide a nutrient-rich protein that’s just about unmatched in the health department.”
In November 2022, the USDA issued a proposal to see more seafood added to food packages for the Women, Infants, and Children’s Supplemental Nutrition program.
“NFI members from Alaska to Georgia supply seafood to the program and are invested in seeing it thrive,” Picard said.
The proposed USDA rule – the first food package update of the program since 2009 – includes revisions incorporating recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.
- On 20 February, the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture (CSA) announced Food + Planet, RETI Center, and Sea Pact have joined the organization’s portfolio of environmental groups.
The organization also included the addition of Galveston, Texas, U.S.A.-based commercial fisherman captain Scott Hickman, as well as five graduate student, to support the CSA mission of taking a stakeholder-led approach to its efforts.
“Done right, offshore aquaculture will be a cornerstone of a healthy, sustainable U.S. seafood economy,” Hickman said. “It can complement wild-caught fishing and help meet the demand for locally sourced seafood.”
- The Global Tuna Alliance (GTA) secured its first partner in Japan.
Meiho Co., a fish-processing company based in Shiogama, is GTA’s latest partner and first in Japan, the organization said in a release.
This partnership is a milestone for the GTA as Japan is one of the largest tuna-consuming nations in the world and the second-largest tuna-fishing nation.
“We’re delighted that Meiho has demonstrated their commitment to a future of sustainable, socially responsible tuna fishing by joining forces with the GTA. This is a major breakthrough for the GTA, which has been seeking to connect with seafood market players in Japan since its inception,” Fisheries and Maritime Consultant Gunther Errhalt, who also works in an outreach capacity with the GTA in Japan, said in a release.
Errhalt, who joined the organization in 2023, is confident this collaboration will spark other Japanese-based tuna companies to follow suit.
“Meiho’s decision to join the GTA signifies that they are stalwart defenders of tuna while simultaneously acting as a beacon to others in Japan, encouraging them to make their voice heard in the global supply chain," he said. "With Meiho at the forefront of this effort in Asia, I am confident that more Japanese members will follow suit. This will strongly motivate decision-makers across the region to attentively consider the market’s perspective."
