The National Fisheries Institute on Wednesday announced that Crystal Harbor Seafood of St. Petersburg, Fla., has joined its Crab Council.
Adding to a coalition that already makes up nearly 70 percent of the imported blue swimming crab market, Crystal Harbor joins a sustainability alliance that includes Blue Star, Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, Handy, Heron Point, Lawrence Street Seafood, Newport, Phillips, RGE, Supreme Lobster and Twin Tails.
The council also reported that that the industry group through which it funds sustainability work has finalized an agreement with the Indonesian Ministry of Fisheries to work on a blue swimming crab stock assessment. Last week, its partners released roughly 5,000 hatchery-produced juvenile crabs as part of its stock enhancement work in the Philippines.
In March, the council adopted a minimum-size requirement for crabs from Indonesia and the Philippines, and in late April Indonesia’s government accepted and implemented the requirement.
“They’re funding and doing real work on blue swimming crab sustainability, and that’s what we want to be a part of,” said Andy Walton of Crystal Harbor.
“The leading companies within all channels of distribution are promoting the need for a sustainable resource. We recognize the importance of this endeavor and is why we have joined the NFI Crab Council,” added Troy Turkin. also of Crystal Harbor.
