Saving Seafood

Fair Trade Shrimp Announcement

November 30, 2022 — The following was released by Fair Trade USA:
Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods announced an exclusive initiative with two of its global shrimp suppliers, Thai Union Frozen PCL and Avanti Frozen Foods, making the company the largest importer of Fair Trade Certified™ shrimp in the United States. This marks not only the first fair trade seafood or shrimp certification in India, but also the first certification of two suppliers simultaneously from different geographic regions.
 
This recent fair trade certification is an extension of the Thai Union global sustainability platform, SeaChange, and the seafood giant’s commitment to protect the planet, improve lives, and fight poverty within the communities in which it operates. As part of Thai Union North America, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods partnered with Thai Union Frozen and Avanti, a Thai Union affiliated company, on this important initiative to help drive sustainability and leadership in the industry and category. Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods is the #1 importer of frozen shrimp in the United States. With shrimp as the most consumed seafood in the country, this certification provides U.S. consumers with the volume of Fair Trade Certified options they are starting to demand.  
 
“Here at Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, we are proud to champion sustainability for both the sea and local communities through Fair Trade’s rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards,” says Bryan Rosenberg, CEO, Thai Union North America. “In an industry survey we conducted earlier this year, we saw that nearly 3/4 of food executives and buyers saw an increase in demand for sustainably caught/raised products. Fair trade certification gives us the opportunity to provide them with what they want in a clear, recognizable way.”  
 
An award-winning, rigorous, and globally recognized sustainable sourcing model, Fair Trade USA works to improve livelihoods, protect the environment and build resilient, transparent supply chains. Fair trade certification allows consumers to purchase with the trust that each product was made according to rigorous standards that protect workers, farmers, fishers, and their communities. This includes: 
 
“This initiative bolsters the efforts of conventional seafood partners getting involved in improving global environmental and human rights protections,” say Paul Rice, Founder & CEO of Fair Trade USA. “Thai Union’s commitment to sustainability and the fair trade shrimp initiative helps elevate customer confidence in their leadership in this space and ability to meet consumer demand for seafood they can feel good about. As the first global initiative of its kind, this is a step towards greater equity throughout the seafood supply chain.”

Julie Kuchepatov shares SAGE advice on how to approach gender equality issues in seafood

January 6, 2021 — SAGE, a nonprofit launched on 13 October, 2020, by Julie Kuchepatov, is working to raise awareness around – and ultimately improve – gender equality in the seafood industry. Kuchepatov, the former director of seafood at Fair Trade USA and a founding member of Ocean Outcomes, hopes to help establish a more inclusive seafood industry through SAGE. SeafoodSource interviewed Kuchepatov about how the seafood industry should approach 2021 with gender equality issues in mind.

SeafoodSource: Having worked at Fair Trade and with various seafood companies across sectors and geographies over the years, you are familiar with the many challenges the industry faces. Why should the industry be thinking about gender equality?

Kuchepatov: Building gender equality and women’s empowerment in the seafood industry is critical. The seafood sector, as with most sectors, has experienced an unprecedented level of disruption due to the global pandemic and decisions are being made in real time about the industry’s future. To build back better, we must develop equitable solutions that include diverse voices to overcome the challenges created by COVID-19.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New SAGE initiative launched to create a more gender inclusive seafood industry

October 13, 2020 — Addressing systemic barriers to gender equality in the seafood industry is one of the prime directives of SAGE, a new nonprofit launched on 13 October courtesy of its founder, Julie Kuchepatov.

Kuchepatov, the former director of seafood at Fair Trade USA and a founding member of Ocean Outcomes, formed SAGE to build a more inclusive seafood industry that will empower and elevate women, who make up 50 percent of the sector’s workforce, yet remain underrepresented in key management and decision-making roles.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAINE: Union-owned Lobster 207 gets “Fair Trade” certification

February 21, 2020 — Lobster 207, the wholesale and retail cooperative owned by the Maine Lobstering Union, can now market its lobsters with the trademarked “Fair Trade” seal after certification by the nonprofit Fair Trade USA.

Based on compliance with the organization’s extensive, 105-page Capture Fisheries Standard, the certification confirms that lobstermen selling their catch to the co-op, and the co-op itself, have met the rigorous standards set by Fair Trade for environmental stewardship, social responsibility and fair labor practices. According to a statement released by Lobster 207, more than 4,500 fishermen around the world have been certified under the Fair Trade Capture Fisheries Standard. Lobster 207 represents the only group of lobstermen worldwide who have received the certification.

The Fair Trade certification can have significant benefits for marketers. Among them, Lobster 207’s catch may be sold with the “Fair Trade Premium” that allows a percentage of the sale proceeds to be returned to the lobstermen’s community.

“With our Fair Trade Premium, a portion of every pound of Fair Trade lobster sold will go into a community development fund,” Mike Yohe, CEO of Lobster 207, said in a statement. “This money will go right back into our communities to improve the livelihoods of our lobstermen and their families.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Building consumer trust: Wholechain pilots blockchain traceability tech

December 12, 2019 — The journey of the Fair Trade USA-certified shrimp harvested from Altata Bay in Mexico to Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. is tracked and documented using one of the most cutting-edge traceability technologies: blockchain.

Part of a pilot project between Fair Trade USA and blockchain solution provider Wholechain, the Del Pacifico-distributed shrimp in the frozen section of New Seasons Market demonstrate the promise of blockchain to ensure full transparency for a seafood sector rife with obscure supply chains and, sometimes, fraud.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New report combines data of five leading sustainability NGOs for first time

June 13, 2019 — A new report released during the 2019 SeaWeb Seafood Summit, (SWSS19) has united data from five of the leading seafood sustainability NGOs, giving a comprehensive look at the sustainability of the world’s oceans.

“Sustainable Seafood: A Global Benchmark” has brought together the data and expertise of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Fair Trade USA, Marine Stewardship Council, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. Together, the collective data has formed a report looking at the sustainability of different seafood sectors, and the priorities that should be focused on moving forward.

The report is thanks to the Seafood Certification and Ratings Collaboration, which launched in 2015.

“Through the collaboration, we aim to increase our impact by coordinating our tools and leveraging our extensive data on the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture,” the report said.

The report, and the compiling of the data of the various NGOs, has been a goal of the collaboration and regular updated analysis are planned in the future.

“This first edition is intended as a benchmark, illustrating the current level of performance and identifying the improvements needed going forward,” the report said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Fair Trade founder heralds the rise of the conscious consumer

June 12, 2019 — The age of the conscious consumer has arrived, much to the delight of Fair Trade USA founder and CEO Paul Rice.

The keynote speaker at this year’s SeaWeb Seafood Summit – taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 10 to 14 June – Rice shared some promising news about modern consumer behavior with conference attendees, all of whom have a vested interest in the sustainable seafood movement.

“Consumers are changing the world,” he said. “Their purchasing decisions are both luring more companies into the sustainability space and rewarding those companies that do.”

Shoppers are increasingly opening up their minds and wallets to seafood that appeals to their growing sustainability sensibilities, Rice explained, referencing an impressive leap in sales experienced by one of the certifier’s seafood partners after the supplier introduced Fair Trade scallops to its portfolio.

“One of the companies that we work with in our sustainability program had scallop sales of 3 percent year-over-year growth – they introduced Fair Trade scallops and their sales growth on the scallop line jumped to 38 percent,” Rice said. “Now that’s an extraordinary and probably unusual sales bump as a result of adding the Fair Trade label, but it illustrates the point, which is regardless of what certification it is or what sustainability attribute we add to products, consumers are hungry to reward companies that are doing the right thing and are looking for products that speak to their values.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ASC-certified fish farms testing out Fair Trade standards

October 17, 2018 — Select fish farms certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) will soon be piloting Fair Trade USA’s requirements, thanks to a recent memorandum of understanding signed by the certification bodies.

The collaboration, announced 9 October, will see Fair Trade USA’s model of “responsible business and conscious consumption” implemented by certain ASC-certified fish farms. The pilot – being carried out in the framework of ASC’s new Improver Program – will allow the certifiers to determine if Fair Trade’s program, which enables sustainable livelihoods for fishermen around the world while empowering them to improve their communities via the Community Development Fund, can act as a ladder toward ASC certification.

“The Capture Fisheries Standard for wild fisheries has been the cornerstone of the Fair Trade seafood program since its inception in 2014, and now thousands of fishermen and workers are reaping its benefits,” said Julie Kuchepatov, seafood director at Fair Trade USA. “We look forward to working with ASC to bring the benefits of Fair Trade to fish farmers and workers and increase the environmental and social impact of our respective programs.”

“We are excited to bring the expertise of both organizations together in service of our shared goal to further improve the social and environmental performance of the aquaculture industry,” added Roy van Daatselaar, producer support manager at ASC.

ASC’s Improver Program, which was launched at the beginning of October, is aimed at helping seafood farmers not yet ready to achieve certification with improving their practices and mitigating their social and environmental impacts. The program has already seen ASC team up with the Vietnamese Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish) and WWF Vietnam to provide guidance documents geared at helping VietGAP-certified farmers to achieve ASC certification. This new arrangement with Fair Trade USA signals the program’s ongoing expansion and will benefit producers with a more comprehensive approach to certification, according to Daatselaar.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Fair Trade certification picks up steam and accolades in 2018

April 18, 2018 — North American certifier Fair Trade USA has experienced a great deal of growth since its inception in 2014, with even more expansion on the way for 2018, the organization announced on 16 April.

To date, Fair Trade has certified more than 6,000 fishermen and seafood supply chain workers under its Capture Fisheries Standard, and has been selected as a SeaWeb Seafood Champion Awards finalist for its visionary approach to seafood sustainability.

The certification body applies what it refers to as an “innovative model of responsible business and conscious consumption” that “enables sustainable livelihoods for fishermen, workers, and their families around the world.” Fair Trade participants are empowered to improve their communities via the model by way of the Fair Trade Premium, which constitutes additional income earned for every pound of Fair Trade-certified seafood sold, the organization explained.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Premium scallop line, rebranding effort part of the next chapter for Northern Wind

March 15, 2018 — New Bedford, Massachusetts-based seafood supplier Northern Wind, celebrated a milestone 30-year anniversary at the 2018 Seafood Expo North America event in Boston, Massachusetts. Company founders Ken Melanson and Michael Fernandes, along with Northern Wind’s co-CEO George S. Kouri, said they look forward to blossoming the success of Northern Wind even further in the years to come.

“We’re looking forward to the next chapter, because the first 30 years have been so robust and fruitful for the company,” Kouri said. “The next chapter for this company brings a lot of different opportunities for us – it brings opportunity for change; it brings opportunity to increase channels of distribution; it brings opportunities for new product sourcing; it brings opportunity for our re-branding efforts in packaging, re-facing the company in the image we want to project. It goes on and on, including Fair Trade.”

Besides scallops, the supplier has established a wide-ranging portfolio including ahi tuna, Atlantic salmon, North American lobster, monkfish, headfish, skate, and value-added seafood offerings. But the business has made its name with scallops.

“We have strict and strong historical relationships with vessels. We have state-of-the-art facilities with very well-financed capital improvements that enable us to process and produce probably more scallops than anyone in this industry,” Kouri said. “We’re very much known for our quality, our credibility, our loyalty to our supply side, and our customer service.”

A year ago, the company was the first scallop producer in the nation to receive Fair Trade certification. Building off demand from the foodservice sector for premium scallops, the company has launched its Captain’s Call Five-Star Premium Scallops.

Read the full story at Seafood Source