The foodservice arm of U.K. seafood supplier Young’s Seafood Ltd. won the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources category at the annual Footprint Awards.
Young’s Foodservice won the award for “Project Trawlight,” a collaborative project that focuses on reducing the amount of juvenile fish caught within each catch. This initiative sees lights attached to the escape panels on trawls to guide smaller fish out of the net. Early trials suggest a reduction in by-catch of up to 40 percent.
From an energy perspective, the lights only charge when they are in water, which means that there is no energy waste.
“This type of innovative technology can assist vessel operators to avoid catches of unwanted fish in the context of the landing obligation. This gives both an environmental and economic advantage in that the smaller fish are freed for future generations, [while] for fishers, they can maximize their catch quota and reduce the amount of low value fish landed for the non-human consumption market,” said Charles Miers, CEO of the Footprint Media Group.
Established in 2010, the Footprint Awards recognize efforts and initiatives implemented by organisations in the foodservice industry for the benefit of their community and the industry.
