The Ocean Disclosure Project, an effort led by the nonprofit Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) to encourage companies to create a sourcing profile detailing the origin of key seafood species and the sustainability of the fisheries, has launched a new website.
Nine companies, including retailers from the United States and United Kingdom, as well as suppliers and aquaculture feed manufacturers, are among the first group of corporate participants in the project. They have agreed to release data, including locations where their wild seafood is caught, as well as the gear types used, fisheries management information, environmental impacts, certifications and fishery improvement projects.
“The companies that have reported this year have shown that there are no issues with commercial confidentiality in such disclosure and sharing the information only improves trust and confidence in the seafood industry,” SFP CEO Jim Cannon said. “We sincerely hope that other companies will take note of this important project and report their own seafood procurement in a similar manner.”
Corporate participants include aquaculture feed manufacturer Cargill/EWO, Biomar, and Skretting; French food service company Davigel; U.K. retailers Asda, Co-op Food, and Morrisons; U.K. seafood supplier Joseph Robertson; and U.S. retailer Publix Supermarket.
“The companies that have participated in the Ocean Disclosure Project should be highly commended for demonstrating real leadership in corporate reporting,” Cannon said. “The seafood sector as a whole has poor transparency and this kind of comprehensive reporting shows a very high level of responsibility by these companies along with a real confidence in their business model.“
The ODP allows companies to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable fish and shellfish sourcing through complete transparency around the condition of their seafood sources and improvement efforts, according to Chris Brown, senior director of sustainable business with Asda.
“Asda is committed to the sustainable sourcing of seafood,” Brown said. “We see the Ocean Disclosure Project as an important mechanism for stakeholders to judge our progress. We believe in transparency in how we source our fish and shellfish to enable consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.”
The new website is operated by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership but it is intended that the website will become independent by the end of 2020. The project is funded by the John Ellerman Foundation.
