Marine ingredient certification standard provider MarinTrust has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, a U.S.-based nonprofit that works with a range of seafood companies, retailers, brands, and foodservice companies to reduce the environmental impact of seafood.
MarinTrust said the new MoU formalizes and strengthens the collaborative efforts the two groups have already undertaken and will help both organizations reach shared goals around seafood sustainability.
"This MoU marks a significant step forward in our longstanding relationship with SFP,” MarinTrust Executive Chair Libby Woodhatch said in a release.
MarinTrust added that the new partnership will help both organizations reach multiple shared goals, including joint support for initiatives such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Gulf of Thailand Fish Project, the MarinTrust Multispecies Pilot Project, and the Global Roundtable for Marine Ingredients.
The move will also integrate SFP’s fishery improvement project (FIP) ratings into MarinTrust’s Improver Program. The program is designed to encourage factories that can’t meet MarinTrust’s standards to implement improvements toward gaining certification. The program has managed to successfully elevate pelagic fisheries to full MarinTrust certification, with the first such fishery achieving that goal in 2022.
SFP Deputy Division Director Dave Martin said the organization has worked with MarinTrust for years and has already resulted in progress on projects like the Gulf of Thailand Fish Project.
“Together, we can amplify our impact and accelerate progress toward a more sustainable and equitable seafood supply chain,” Martin said.
As part of the new partnership, MarinTrust and SNP said they will share insights and information with the goal of promoting best practices in the marine ingredient industry without duplicating roles.
“This includes the use of FishSource data for MarinTrust certificate applications and exploring the use of the FAO Global Record of Stocks and Fisheries (GRSF) identifiers,” MarinTrust said.
As part of the MoU, the SFP will continue to have representation on MarinTrust’s committees, which it said include the Governing Body Committee, Improver Program Application Committee, Fisheries Development Oversight Committee, and Social and Ethical Committee.
“By aligning our efforts, we can more effectively drive improvements in marine ingredient sourcing, traceability, and production, ultimately benefiting ecosystems, communities and the users of marine ingredients such as the global aquaculture sector, the omega-3 nutraceutical industry, and the pet food sector,” Woodhatch said.
MarinTrust focuses on marine ingredient producers, and its certification program was founded in 2009 as a way of identifying which companies and producers were sourcing and producing products responsibly.
SFP works at all levels of the seafood supply chain, which includes a focus on marine ingredients and production. The organization recently launched a Feed Solutions Toolkit for the aquaculture industry, which focuses on feed sustainability.
