Seafish has thrown its support behind International Sustainability Unit’s (ISU) Marine Programme, which was launched by HRH The Prince of Wales on Friday.
In his keynote speech, Prince Charles introduced a report, “Towards Global Sustainable Fisheries: The Opportunity for Transition,” that evaluated 50 of the world’s fisheries in transition. “If sustainable management of fisheries is applied more widely, the long-term benefits will be seen in larger catches at sea, higher earnings, more secure jobs and healthier marine ecosystems,” he said
“We are committed to supporting a sustainable future for the seafood industry in the UK and will continue to work closely with industry to help ensure that the aspirations for a well-managed, profitable and sustainable outlook are realized," said Seafish CEO Paul Williams in a statement on Monday.
Added Phil MacMullen, head of environment at Seafish, “Seafish committed itself to ecosystem-based fisheries management over 15 years ago when its board endorsed a policy statement on environmental issues. Since that time we have supported our fishermen and the whole supply chain to establish and improve production standards. The marine environment is very robust but we have to understand that fisheries can have a disproportionate impact if they are not well managed. The UK administrations are widely respected for their effective management regimes but our work, our Responsible Fishing Scheme, and our support for best practices in fishing, have helped the UK seafood industry to become a real leader in respecting the ecosystem that supports us.”
