Solutions

Business Solutions

SeaChoice not only works to provide educational material for consumers looking to make more responsible seafood choices, but is also partnering with businesses that are working towards sustainability as part of their overall strategy for success. Our commitment to business is to discover solutions to the complex issues that surround the sustainability of the seafood items they buy, sell, or distribute.

Our business partnerships are built on foundations of trust, commitment, understanding, and communication. We are ready to help your organization develop workable and manageable goals in your pursuit of seafood sustainability. The advancement of corporate policy, customized employee and customer information programs, procurement and promotion of sustainable products, and the coordination of public communication are just a few of the ways SeaChoice can help you succeed. These types of collaborative efforts are essential, and help us work towards a more sustainable future for the world’s oceans.

SeaChoice is eager to partner with retailers, processors, brokerages, and distributors, and we are looking to showcase businesses that are committed to making a difference. We can help you take the first steps towards a sustainable future and work with you long-term to help ensure the success of your sustainable seafood programs and the sustainability of our oceans. Please contact Neil Radix to find out how sustainability can be translated into success for your business. We are ready to work with you!

Success Stories – Who’s making a difference now!

Compass Group Canada

In June 2008, Compass Group Canada became the first national food service company to commit to a sustainable seafood policy that is being applied across all of their operating divisions, including workplaces, colleges and universities, hospitals, entertainment facilities, and remote camps. To guide their sustainability journey, they are working in partnership with the SeaChoice program, as well as Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise. Working with conservation partners ensures purchasing changes are science-based and maximizes impact by collaborating on outreach and education.

Compass Group Canada has committed to replacing one unsustainable species approximately every six months. Their first change was the replacement of a quarter million pounds of unsustainable Atlantic cod used annually with more sustainable Alaskan Pollock. Now, all salmon is being shifted to wild salmon to remove approximately 50,000 pounds of unsustainable farmed salmon from menus each year. To support these changes Compass Group Canada is holding chef trainings and encouraging their clients to help increase consumer awareness. Find out more about Compass Group Canada’s sustainable purchasing commitments.

RainCoast Trading

RainCoast Trading is a seafood provider in the Pacific North West’s evolving commercial fishing sector and was established with strong traditions and values that embrace environmental stewardship and responsibility. Fuelled by a rapidly growing demand for natural canned seafood products, RainCoast Trading represents the natural choice for the green, conscience-driven consumer.

Since its founding in 1976, RainCoast Trading has been committed to employing the most ecologically responsible methods available to harvest and process their fine seafood products. They target superior quality albacore tuna with the use of specialized “hook and line” techniques to replace traditional dolphin harming netting practices. And, RainCoast makes the choice easy for consumers; each tuna can is labeled with the catch method and region of harvest, something every shopper can appreciate, particularly given the overall lack of seafood labeling in Canada. To learn more about RainCoast Trading, please visit their website.

Seaside Marketing

Seaside Marketing can be summed up in one word…Passion. With a product list that is SeaChoice green from top to bottom, Julie Bell and Greg Armitage have turned their passion for sustainability into a business that provides some of the finest seafood available. For seafood businesses looking to source sustainable products from the west coast, Seaside Marketing is looking to expand to eastern Canadian and US markets. With new naturally preserved spot prawns, for example, the product can now make the trip to Toronto markets. Given their commitment to the promotion and profile of sustainable seafood, SeaChoice recently identified Seaside Marketing as one of the local champions in this field. Congratulations Julie Bell, Greg Armitage, and team. Keep up the good work! We encourage you to read their full company profile, and visit their website for more information.

The Common Vision – Groups Working Together

In May 2008, SeaChoice and its five member organizations joined forces with nine U.S. environmental groups and released the “Common Vision for Environmentally Sustainable Seafood”. All of these organizations have a strong history of working with the seafood industry and policymakers have partnered to form the Conservation Alliance for Sustainable Seafood.

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

The Common Vision guiding principles are how SeaChoice guides its working relationships with businesses that are looking to become part of the solution. Contact us to see how SeaChoice can work with your business to help provide a more sustainable future for everyone.

Take a look at the SeaChoice press release for more details. You can also download a copy of The Common Vision statement. To learn more about the Common Vision’s associated members, please click here.

Business FAQ’s – What do businesses like yours want to know?

Q: If customers request sustainable seafood, can I only recommend seafood on the SeaChoice “Best Choice” list?
A: SeaChoice strongly urges businesses to highlight or feature the items that have been identified as our “Best Choice”. Seafood located in the SeaChoice “Best Choice” list is currently meeting a higher level of sustainability than items listed in our “Some Concerns” or “Avoid” categories. Several other fisheries and aquaculture producers are improving their practices and are proactively moving towards meeting the “Best Choice” criteria. Businesses are encouraged to work in collaboration with organizations like SeaChoice to support fisheries policy and management reform.

Q: Many customers are aware of the negative environmental impacts from salmon farming. Is all farmed seafood considered unsustainable?
A: No, not all farmed seafood is considered unsustainable. In fact, many farmed species appear on the SeaChoice “Best Choice” list. There are fish and shellfish farming methods that do not pollute, damage habitat, or diminish wild stocks. Please reference our online seafood database or view on of the SeaChoice wallet guides for an up-to-date list of farmed seafood on the “Best Choice” list.

Q: What is the difference between seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and seafood on the SeaChoice “Best Choice” list?
A: The MSC uses a third-party certification process to verify that wild fisheries meet their standards of sustainability. Products that carry the MSC label must be traceable back to the certified fishery. SeaChoice recommends “Best Choice” seafood items based on its scientific assessments, but does not include third party verification or a traceability element to determine rankings.

Key differences in the MSC and SeaChoice programs can result in differences in sustainability recommendations:

• Unlike SeaChoice, the MSC may certify a fishery while it is still working towards improvements that are necessary to meet the MSC’s bar of sustainability.
• The MSC can certify a portion of a fishery, while the SeaChoice rankings often look at the sustainability of the fishery as a whole (i.e. 10% of Patagonian toothfish is MSC certified, while the remainder still falls in the “avoid” category.)

For these reasons, fisheries certified by MSC are not always found in the “Best Choice” list.

Other differences between the MSC and SeaChoice programs include:

• SeaChoice assessments cover both farmed and wild seafood
• SeaChoice assessments are done without a cost or time expense for producers
• MSC products are differentiated by a simple logo. SeaChoice is currently developing comprehensive in-store displays and packaging labels to not only educate consumers and businesses, but guide them to choose sustainable seafood.

Because of these differences, the SeaChoice program covers a broad range of seafood sold in Canada, but verifiable traceability information is needed to ensure the products they are purchasing are on the “Best Choice” list.

Q: Do other programs have different methodologies or criteria to determine sustainability?
A: Numerous conservation organizations use the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s assessment methodology. However, there are a number of other assessment methodologies used by conservation groups and certification programs.

• The Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program uses SeaChoice and Monterey Bay Aquarium’s assessments to measure sustainability.
• Other programs that conduct their own assessments – like the Marine Stewardship Council – look at similar criteria.

Even though rankings and/or recommendations differ there is general agreement on what practices are more sustainable.

Q: I’ve heard about a Common Vision for Environmentally Sustainable Seafood. Is SeaChoice a part of this initiative?
A: Yes. The five member groups of SeaChoice and ten conservation organizations from the United States have partnered to pursue a common vision for sustainable seafood and work together as the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions.

• Using a range of approaches, participating organizations bring conservation expertise to companies that buy and sell seafood.
• The shared goal is to preserve the health of ocean and freshwater ecosystems and ensure a long-term seafood supply.
• By working together groups can draw on each other’s expertise and collaborate to better tackle the tough issues in achieving sustainability.

Please visit www.solutionsforseafood.org for more information about what other organizations and businesses are a part of this initiative.

Q: What role do businesses play in the Common Vision and the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions?
A: The Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions invites businesses that buy and sell seafood to work in partnership with the conservation community to build a sustainable future for seafood. Six steps have been identified as important areas that businesses and conservation groups can work on together to move forward on the path toward sustainability:

• Commit to developing and implementing a comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainable seafood.
• Assess and monitor the environmental sustainability of the seafood you sell or distribute.
• Source environmentally responsible seafood.
• Be transparent and provide information regarding your seafood products to the public.
• Educate your customers, suppliers, employees and other key stakeholders about environmentally responsible seafood.
• Support policy and management reform that leads to positive environmental outcomes in fisheries and aquaculture management.

All six of these steps are critical to the sustainability of seafood and it is understood that these steps will take time and effort to achieve. Participants in the Conservation Alliance encourage businesses to begin with steps they can take now and work towards expanding their commitment to achieve all of the steps over time.

Q: Does SeaChoice consider mercury and other toxin levels in the seafood rankings?
A: Currently, SeaChoice does not assess toxin levels or health risks associated with seafood. However, SeaChoice does include health advisories issued by the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF). These advisories are based on the most robust dataset of seafood contaminant information. More details on EDF’s health recommendations can be found on their website.

Q: Do SeaChoice assessments include organic seafood products?
A: There are no national organic standards for seafood products in Canada. Other countries have developed organic standards for seafood and apply these to aquaculture products. Currently, SeaChoice does not include organic certification in our assessments.

Q: How important is obtaining detailed information about the seafood I buy & sell?
A: In a word, it’s critical. Visibility and traceability into your supply chain will allow your business to identify items you sell that may be considered our SeaChoice “Best Choice”. Documentation regarding the species name, catch method, region, fishery, and even vessel go a long way in identifying which items are more sustainable than others. In Canada, there is no legal requirement for businesses to obtain or track this information.

Our polling has shown that consumer interest in product sustainability is increasing rapidly. Businesses that choose to track and share this information will have a definite competitive advantage in the market, and will be able to answer questions on the sustainability of their products with confidence. SeaChoice’s guide on Seafood Traceability in Canada: Traceability Systems, Certification, Eco-Labelling and Standards for Achieving Sustainable Seafood is an excellent resource for finding out more about options for improving tracking and labelling. Download your free copy today!

Reference Materials

Seafood Guides – Our popular wallet-sized seafood guides for consumers rank seafood from best choice, to some concerns, and seafood to avoid. Canada’s Seafood Guide is available in French and English. Canada’s Sustainable Sushi Guide is the newest addition to the family. Download your copies, or order a stack for your colleagues, staff, or customers free of charge.

SeaChoice Database – Search our detailed database for the sustainability ranking of the most common species of fish and shellfish bought and sold in Canada today. Details include species ranking, common names, location, and gear type.

Canada’s Business Guide to Sustainable Seafood – Heralded as “the first of its kind in Canada”. This SeaChoice publication is designed to provide basic information to businesses looking to become part of the solution. Download your free copy today!

Seafood Traceability in Canada – This document is intended to be a practical and educational resource for Canadian businesses. To source and promote sustainable seafood, traceability is an essential component to ensure the products identified as sustainable are traceable back to the source. Download your free copy here.

How We Fish Matters – This is a comprehensive analysis of the severity of habitat impacts and discarded bycatch resulting from major commercial fishing gears used in Canada. Please visit www.howwefish.ca.

Canada’s In-Depth Guide to Sustainable Seafood – A practical, quick-reference guide on common Canadian fishing gears and SeaChoice criteria for sustainability. Click here for your copy. (Note- this pdf is best viewed in “two-up” page display)

Additional resources

Health

Canada’s Food Guide recommends that Canadians eat at least two servings (150g) of fish each week. Seafood is an excellent source of high quality protein, is rich in vitamins and minerals, and provides healthy omega-3 fats. SeaChoice recommends choosing sustainable items such as Canadian farmed arctic char, farmed trout, and wild caught pacific sardinesm, which are particularly high in omega-3 fats, and low in contaminants. Fish is also the most significant source of naturally occurring vitamin D in the Canadian diet.

There has been increasing concern over the levels of toxins that are found in some seafood. Currently, SeaChoice does not assess toxin levels or health risks associated with seafood. However, SeaChoice does include health advisories issued by the Environmental Defense Fund. Find out more at www.edf.org/seafoodhealth.

The Science Behind SeaChoice

The Science behind SeaChoice – The published rankings of species have all been assessed using an acclaimed science-based methodology developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program. SeaChoice, like Seafood Watch, defines sustainable seafood as “fish or shellfish that are caught or farmed with consideration for the long-term viability of harvested populations and for the oceans’ ecological balance as a whole.”

For in-depth assessment methods, follow the links for capture fisheries and aquaculture operations. You can also review the information on our site, or review Canada’s In-Depth Guide to Sustainable Seafood.

• “Best Choice”: Best Choice items are well managed, abundant, and caught or farmed in environmentally sustainable ways.
• “Some Concerns”: Some Concerns seafood should be consumed infrequently, or when a green choice is not available. There are concerns with abundance, management, or impacts on other marine life or habitat.
• “Avoid”: Avoid seafood in this list for now. There come from farmed or wild sources with a combination of critical problems: habitat damage, lethal impacts on other species, critically low populations, or poor management.