Tropic Seafood: MSC certification expected for Bahamian lobster fishery

Beaver Street Fisheries sister company Tropic Seafood expects to receive Marine Stewardship Council certification of one of its primary fisheries in the Bahamas in the coming months.

Tropic Seafood, which processes and packages Island Queen- and Island Prince-brand lobster tails, conch, snapper and other seafood products, has been part of a Fishery Improvement Project for the Bahamian lobster fishery for the past several years. The company is the largest lobster tail and seafood processor in the Bahamas, working from its state-of-the-art processing plant in Nassau, Bahamas, and sells its products throughout North American, Europe and Asia.

Since 2009, Tropic Lobster has been collaborating with World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, the Bahamas Marine Exporters Association and the Department of Marine Resources on a Fishery Improvement Project to “address fishing practices and environmental impacts to help the lobster fishery thrive for generations to come,” according to a company press release.

“Protecting our local waters and the spiny lobster is not only important for our business now, but for the future of our ocean and industry,” Tropic Seafood President Glenn Pritchard said. “Sustainable fishing practices have always been important to our company, but anytime we can go above and beyond to earn third-party environmental certifications for our work, we will pursue that opportunity.”

Now that the FIP is firmly in place, the group engaged in it is seeking the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) certification of the fishery, helping to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Bahamian lobster fishery. Casey Marion, Beaver Street Fisheries' director of sustainability initiatives and quality management systems, said he expected the fishery to obtain MSC certification in the near future.

“With any fishery improvement project, it is always great to see that light at the end of the tunnel, and we are on track to receive the Marine Stewardship Council certification in the coming months, and are continuing to drive other improvement projects within our supply chains, and working on a collaborative level is critical to the success of any fishery improvement project.”

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