Emma Prairie is a freelance journalist based in Waialua, Hawaii, who writes about fisheries and sustainability. She graduated from Yale University in June 2021 with an undergraduate degree in environmental studies and mechanical engineering. She has contributed to the environmental conservation field through internships located in Ecuador, Thailand, and Hawaii.
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Building on its efforts to support the seafood industry by providing a comprehensive fishery improvement project (FIP) reporting website, FisheryProgress.org is now aiming to increase the impact of FIPs by aligning buyers with high-performing FIPs.
Launched in 2016 by FishChoice, FisheryProgress.org originally had the goal of making it easier for seafood buyers and NGO advisors to track FIP progress by providing consistent, comparable
… Read MoreA cold-water prawn fishing vessel has achieved Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS) certification for the first time in the certification’s history.
The RFVS certification is a part of the Global Seafood Alliance’s Best Seafood Practices (BSP), a third-party certification program introduced in June 2021.
The RFVS certification sets standards for ensuring wild-caught seafood that has been harvested and processed in an ethical
… Read MoreThe Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and the University of Washington’s Hilborn Lab have released a new version of the Fishery Improvement Projects Database (FIP-DB), which includes 275 publicly recorded FIPs.
The database was created through a partnership between the Hilborn Lab and SFP. The FIP-DB is a comprehensive database of FIPs reaching back to 2003, when FIPs were first established.
“In the last two decades, FIPs
… Read MoreThe Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) is calling for an animal welfare-based approach to be adopted by the global fishing industry.
Founded in 2019, the New York City, U.S.A.-based organization “advocate[s] for high aquatic animal welfare among key decision-makers that influence how aquatic animals are utilized and how their welfare is defined and governed.”
On Wednesday, 9 March, ALI released a new report, “Key Welfare
… Read MoreThe Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Scientific Committee has published a new report that provides results on the yellowfin tuna stock assessment in the Indian Ocean. The report shows the stock is overfished and will require a catch reduction of at least 30 percent.
The report is the first issued by the IOTC Scientific Committee since 2018 and includes projections for reasonable likelihood of stock recovery by 2030 if the 30 percent catch
… Read MoreTri Marine has been recognized as the first tuna-trading company to achieve ISO 22005:2007 certification from Det Norske Veritas (DNV) ...
Photo courtesy of Tri
… Read MoreThe Vung Tau multispecies trawl fishery improvement project (FIP), based in southern Vietnam, has been accepted into the MarinTrust Improver Program as part of its multispecies pilot.
This FIP is the second to be accepted into the IP’s multispecies pilot project, after the Gulf of Thailand mixed-trawl FIP. The multispecies pilot criteria focuses on complex fisheries.
The MarinTrust Improver Program aims to encourage fishmeal-processing
… Read MoreNueva Pescanova will use plastic waste to produce seafood packaging through an advanced recycling process.
The Pontevedra, Spain-based vertically integrated seafood firm said it will be the first company in its sector to reuse marine plastic pollution in its packaging material.
Nueva Pescanova will collect plastic from riverbeds, coastal areas, and up to 50 kilometers from the coast and begin producing packaging from it for some of its Pescanova
… Read MoreThe Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has launched one of its largest-ever rounds of public consultation starting 1 March and running to 30 April, 2022, seeking comments on the new ASC farm standard that will align all ASC-certified species under one standard.
The new single standard will benefit farmers and auditors through greater efficiency, and make it easier for stakeholders, such as NGOs, to assess and compare the ASC’s
… Read MoreAs concerns about climate change grow internationally, two seafood companies – Lerøy Seafood Group and Grieg Seafood – along with other food companies, have committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
SBTi is an initiative designed to encourage companies to meet specific targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Participating companies set science-based targets that align with the trajectory recommended
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