The Sustainable Seafood Calculator is unlike any other tool available to track the sustainability of seafood species. Developed by Denver, Colo.-based Seattle Fish Co. and FishChoice, and using Seafood Watch information, the free web site and app allows seafood buyers to determine the sustainability of the species they are buying. It also identifies alternative species – and information on Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) if the species is overfished or is unsustainable. The app was developed and tested with some Seattle Fish restaurant buyers over a period of two years.
SeafoodSource recently caught up with Derek Figueroa, COO of Seattle Fish, to find out more about the new app.
Blank: Why was this tool needed?
Figueroa: We wanted to simplify the process for our customers and make it easy to assess fish. A number of our customers use Monterey Bay’s Seafood Watch ratings.
Blank: How is this different than other sustainability ranking tools?
Figueroa: What is revolutionary and value-added is the interface that makes it easy to plug your products in. After you enter the fish that you are buying, you can choose from drop-down menus that include location, gear and volume/ tonnage you are buying. You can get an assessment based on how much you are buying, so it will tell you the percentage of “red,” “green” and “yellow” items you are buying. You can use the reporting – including graphs and charts – to track your progress. As a foodservice buyer, if I have one item that I don’t sell much of, by adding volume, I can figure out the percentage of my menu that would be considered sustainable by Seafood Watch. Then, I can create “what if” scenarios. If I change my menu, what is that going to do to the overall green/red items I use? And it will show me how to find other alternatives.
Blank: Are you recommending that your buyers choose Seafood Watch green-rated species?
Figueroa: Monterey Bay Aquarium has been a really good partner, but customers need to make their decisions, in terms of what guidelines they follow. For example, we carry farmed Atlantic salmon, which is rated red through Seafood Watch. If we can start the dialogue on sustainability, then we are providing a service and we are able to do it in a transparent fashion. There is collaboration based on respect and goals. When you disclose what you buy, it starts a dialogue about the fish and some of the alternatives. Maybe the best decision is to continue to buy that fish for now, or maybe you can look at alternatives and move up a rating. There are certainly fisheries out there that are ranked red, so you can avoid them completely or embrace them. Avoiding them doesn’t create the incentive or the partnership to drive forward change that benefits everyone.
Blank: What kind of feedback have you received from customers?
Figueroa: Our reps and customers are excited to use it. It provides an easy interface for them and allows them to dig deeper and have the information all in one place. Either foodservice or retail could use it; we have been doing outreach with our foodservice customers. It is having another tool to help chefs and customers to really engage where product comes from and know more about their ingredients.
