SeaChoice

Category: Seafood

  • Canadians want better labelling for their seafood

    Canadians want better labelling for their seafood

    We collected 12,705 signatures from Canadians who want better labelling for their seafood

    Thank you so much to everyone for lending their voice to demand better seafood labelling and traceability in Canada!

    Canadians clearly want the power to choose seafood that is good for the oceans and the people that depend on them. We are thrilled to have exceeded our goal of 10,000 signatures!

    While we wait to see if our recommendations are accepted into Canadian regulations, don’t forget to ask these questions when you buy seafood with insufficient labelling:

    • What species is this?
    • Is it wild or farmed?
    • Where is it from?
    • How was it caught or farmed?

    Then check the to see if it’s a sustainable choice!

    Click here for more information about traceability and labelling.

  • Are you eating seafood in the dark?

    Are you eating seafood in the dark?

    You may not be eating the seafood you think you are. And as a result you may be contributing to environmental degradation in the marine environment, modern slavery or even eating seafood that’s not as healthy as you think it is. This is why SeaChoice launched a petition — asking the federal government to improve labelling for seafood in Canada.

    Canadians want to know what seafood they are eating and whether it comes from environmentally and socially sustainable sources — or if it doesn’t. But Canadian consumers are currently “in the dark”. How can we know when the information available on seafood packaging only requires a “common” name?

    According to Canadian guidelines, a package labeled with the common name “rockfish” could be one of more than 100 possible species, some of which are endangered and others which are sustainably caught. A recent study by Oceana in the United States estimated that nearly half of sampled seafood was mislabelled.

    A 2016 study by SeaChoice identified many uncertainties and inconsistencies in official Canadian data – making it likely that Canadians are also subject to seafood fraud. The risk is high – more than half of the seafood in Canadian markets is imported, however current import data does not trace that product back to its source, indicating to consumers only the country where it was last processed, not even its true origin.

    In Canada, consumers cannot currently choose to preferentially purchase seafood that comes from legal, regulated fisheries that do not involve human rights abuses, or even that meet our health requirements. This is why SeaChoice asked for public support in petitioning the federal government to ensure that all seafood sold in Canada bears a label indicating the following:

    • Scientific (Latin) species name,
    • whether is it wild or farmed,
    • the location of the fishery in which it was caught (or farm where it was cultivated), and
    • the gear type or farming method.

    Legislating access to this information would allow you to choose seafood that makes a positive contribution to the environmental, economic, social and cultural fabric of the community it comes from. It would also put us on more of a level playing field with some of our largest seafood markets – the US and the European Union.

    Knowledge is power – and SeaChoice’s newest campaign aims to ensure that all Canadian’s have the power to choose seafood that is good for the oceans and the people that depend on them.

    Click here for more information about traceability and labelling.

  • Who actually eats Canadian seafood?

    pic_final2_largeSeaChoice has worked diligently over the last decade to find solutions for healthy oceans by working with Canadian businesses and shoppers to take an active role in supporting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Despite achieving many successes  to date, there is still more to do. Canada still produces and consumes a large amount of unsustainable seafood. Based on  our Taking Stock report, 14% of seafood produced in Canada is ranked ‘Avoid’, with an additional 9% that is currently  ‘Unranked’. To continue to improve the sustainability of Canadian produced seafood, we’ve set out to understand exactly where our unsustainable, red-ranked seafood is ending up. Though it may sound like a simple question, finding the answer is very complicated! Seafood is one of the most highly traded products worldwide, and the supply-chains can be very long and murky, often having little to no traceability or data tracking.

    When examining the trade data of the major Canadian red-ranked seafood categories, we found that the United States actually consumes more of this seafood than Canadians do! While initially surprising, this makes more sense when we see that the United States is the largest importer of seafood in the world.

    For the largest red-ranked seafood species (open-net farmed salmon, longline caught Atlantic swordfish, Atlantic cod and Manitoba pickerel, perch and pike) we found that on average, 70% was consumed in the U.S., 5% in other countries, and only a quarter of it consumed in Canada.

    So why is this important? To continue to promote positive change in these Canadian fisheries, we need to be able to reach the markets where this seafood is sold. Thankfully many sustainable seafood programs exist across North America, and SeaChoice collaborates with many of them through our participation in the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions. This Alliance connects leading conservation groups that work with businesses representing 80% of the North American grocery and food-service markets. While it seems a little odd to have to work with the US supply chain in order to improve the sustainability of Canadian fisheries, it’s a reality in this globalized world of seafood trade.

     

  • SeaChoice celebrates ten years of sustainable seafood success!

    SeaChoice celebrates ten years of sustainable seafood success!

    WebFor ten years, SeaChoice staff and member organizations have worked with Canadians to make better seafood decisions in support of healthier oceans. From our efforts with businesses, fishers, producers, suppliers, chefs and everyday seafood lovers, SeaChoice has helped to shift the seafood supply towards more sustainable procurement in Canada.

    Our business team has worked with major grocer partners across the country to replace red-listed “Avoid” seafood with sustainable solutions. Partners Big Carrot and Buy-Low Foods have successfully achieved their sustainable seafood commitments by replacing all red-listed seafood and partner Canada Safeway just recently announced achieving 97% of their seafood commitment with concrete next steps to replacing the remaining product required in achieving their goal.

    On behalf of our team at SeaChoice, we thank you for your ongoing support over the years and for helping to make responsible seafood choices. We look forward to our continued work in support of healthier oceans!