January 28, 2021 — The following was released by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative:
Did you know that the seafood sector supports the livelihoods of 13% of the world’s population? As seafood production increases to meet rising global demand, so have concerns over the environmental, economic and social impact of production worldwide.
To help strengthen joint efforts to promote sustainable production and consumption in seafood industry the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has joined the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) as an Affiliated Partner.
As the public-private partnership on seafood sustainability with more than 90 stakeholders industry-wide, the GSSI aligns global efforts and resources to address seafood sustainability challenges. The GSSI aims to ensure clarity, confidence and choice in the supply and promotion of certified seafood as well as to promote improvements in seafood certification schemes.
Bernardo Calzadilla, Managing Director of UNIDO’s Digitalization, Technology and Agri-Business Directorate (DTA), said, “UNIDO very much values the cooperation with GSSI and the Food and Agriculture Organization in this innovative approach to promote sustainable fisheries development, and to increase its long-term contribution to securing better livelihoods in producer communities and to protecting the natural environment.”
As a specialized agency of the United Nations with 170 member states, UNIDO has a long record of building trade-related capacities through a three-pillar approach: enhancing the capacity of producers, processors and entire value chains to comply with technical and sustainability standards and market requirements; strengthening national quality infrastructure (NQI) and its services, in particular for testing and certification; and fostering a culture of quality.