An agreement has been inked between the National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) Crab Council and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), officially formalizing a collaboration made on behalf of Blue Swimming Crab sustainability.
Inherent in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two parties is an outline establishing areas of cooperation that will serve to fortify fishery improvement projects, sharing of stock analysis information and piloting of new supply chain oversight work.
An integral advisor to NFI’s Crab Council since its inception, SFP hopes to provide more strategic and technical guidance for the cause of crab sustainability.
“SFP’s understanding of a fishery’s ecology and economy is a rare, essential combination,” said NFI Chairman Brendan Sweeny. “Their balanced approach is exactly the kind of counsel the Crab Council needs as we explore and test new methods of sourcing control.”
Fisheries improvement efforts carried out in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka have all benefited from the NFI Crab Council’s funding and support. Lately, the Crab Council has been looking to pilot Control Document, “which restricts the catch of berried and undersized crabs with measures that establish control points throughout the supply chain which are subject to inspection by a third party auditor,” as detailed by the Council. SFP acted as a consultant in designing Control Document, and will assist in the supply chain management pilot.
“The Crab Council has been at the forefront of industry-driven sustainability,” said SFP President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Cannon. “As they continue to innovate with supply management, we look forward to refining the blueprint and eventually expanding a well-vetted, practically applied version into a fishery-wide standard.”
