Here’s a look at this week’s can’t-miss SeafoodSource news stories and commentaries:
• What’s driving seafood innovation in France? Pleasure, according to XTC Innovation’s Olivier Hausheer. The Paris-based market research firm uses a five-pronged approach to explain the influences of innovation: health, physical, pleasure, convenience and ethics. Though pleasure continues to inspire seafood innovation in France, health provides the greatest opportunity for new-product development, said Hausheer.
• There’s been so much talk surrounding pangasius recently, whether it’s the World Wildlife Fund adding the species to its red list and then removing it just days later or U.S. and European politicians calling into question the conditions under which the fish is farmed and processed. But impacting Vietnam’s pangasius industry more than anything right now is rising prices. And farmers, who are seeing lower production costs as they sell younger fish for smaller fillets to the U.S. market, are benefiting.
• Whether it’s expanding in the developing world or outlasting the global economic downturn, the Marine Stewardship Council has a lot on its plate right now. Kerry Coughlin, director of the Americas region for the MSC, talked to SeafoodSource about the London-based program’s 2011 goals and about the challenges unique to the Americas. Part one of the interview ran on Tuesday, and part two appeared on Wednesday.
• The MSC is also at the center of a debate over a sustainable certification and labeling program for California seafood. Members of an advisory panel assembled to develop the program are urging the Ocean Protection Council to explore alternatives to the MSC.
• After three years of independent, third-party verification by Global Trust Certification, Iceland’s cod fishery is now certified as responsibly managed according to the Iceland Responsible Fisheries program. The certification provides a benchmark for the country’s fisheries managers and fishermen to rate performance and track improvements. Cod is Iceland’s most valuable fishery.
