SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] — Aug 13, 2014 — Taking a page from the NGO's, the National Fisheries Institute has asked retail and foodservice crab buyers to inquire what their supplier may be doing for blue swimming crab conservation.
NFI would like buyers to purchase from those companies that are members of the NFI crab council. The Crab Council is a group of domestic crab importers committed to preserving blue crab as a valuable export resource in Asia, where enforcement, legal sizes, and other management tools won't be implemented without industry leadership.
Since forming in 2009, the NFI Crab Council has provided funding and coordinated support for Blue Swimming Crab Fishery Improvement Plans throughout Southeast Asia. The council’s member companies recognize the importance of a thriving crab fishery for their businesses, local economies and environmental habitat.
Members assess themselves a tax on every pound of Blue Swimming Crab raising $300,000 annually, which supports Blue Swimming Crab sustainability efforts at the source.
Whether it’s net-exchange programs, stock assessment efforts or harvest control education the Council is the leader in focused, fundamental change for Blue Swimming Crab fisheries.
Through this industry-led sustainability model, the Crab Council has generated close to two million dollars of investment and developed partnerships from WWF, the Walton Family Fund, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, 50 in 10, and the World Bank.
Abroad and at home, the Crab Council has become synonymous with corporate stewardship.
NFI is asking these buyer to know whether their supplier is a member of the crab council or not, and if not, to urge them to join.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.