Seafood Choices Alliance (SCA) yesterday announced 10 Seafood Champion finalists at its annual Seafood Summit conference.
The finalists are: the American Albacore Fishing Association; London restaurateur Caroline Bennett; Gary Johnson of McDonald's Corp.; Australis Aquaculture of Turners Falls, Mass.; organic shrimp farmer Mathias Ismail of Madagascar; French fishing organization Association des Ligneurs de la Point de Bretagne; Santa Monica Seafood Co. of Rancho Dominguez, Calif.; Tracy Taylor of supermarket company Ahold; Seafood Scotland; and Dr. Tom Pickerell of the U.K. Shellfish Association.
The awards are presented annually by SCA, a program of the ocean conservation organization SeaWeb, to honor those who have made significant strides in improving practices and awareness of responsible seafood sourcing. The winners will be announced at a reception during the International Boston Seafood Show in March.
"It is a privilege to honor these outstanding finalists," said Melanie Siggs, SCA director. "The challenges facing industry, governments and communities that depend on a responsible supply of fish are real and complex. Through their actions both the Champion finalists, and the attendees at the 2009 Summit, are demonstrating sharing responsibility with each other and their peers to accomplish real change to protect oceans and the seafood industry for future generations."
The 2009 Seafood Summit, Sharing Responsibility for Real Change, is being held this week in San Diego. More than 400 attendees from 33 countries have gathered to address the critical issues facing the global seafood supply.
