Sustainable labeling programs for seafood

To do so, interviews were conducted with randomly selected Ocean Wise members, previous Ocean Wise members and non-Ocean Wise restaurants in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Other members joined in response to consumer demand which is not surprising as Vancouver has a reputation of being an environmentally friendly city. Ocean Wise members had a statistically significantly higher knowledge of fishing practices and sustainable products than nonmembers and participated in a higher number of green activities such as recycling, composting, sourcing local products, using environmentally friendly cleaning products, and reducing energy use than non-members.

Surprisingly, generally positive attitudes towards the environment were not a motivating factor for restaurants to join Ocean Wise. Instead, other factors such as specific knowledge of seafood and personal experiences such as the observation of shrinking fish sizes over time were better predictors of members when we catch big fish, only the smaller ones survive to produce the next generation.

One downside that most members identified was the difficulty in finding certain sustainable products, especially prawns. So how can this information help Ocean Wise and perhaps other eco-labels grow? Eco-labels need to continue to be a reliable source of scientific information that restauranteurs and consumers trust.

In fact, tuna contains more mercury than most other seafood you consume according to the Federal Drug Administration based on testing they did from to Yet even though this was done decades ago, the amounts of mercury inside tuna are expected to get worse, not better, based on where the contamination is coming from— air pollution. When fossil fuels are burned, mercury pollution settles in streams and then runs into the ocean where it accumulates in the fat of fish.

Exposure to mercury can result in brain cell death, impaired fine motor skills, lowering of concentration and focus. Mercury exposure is also linked to anxiety and depression. And the more you have in your body the greater your risk of heart disease. Based on these numbers, Mamavation suggests only eating light tuna, and avoiding all the rest. The good news is there is a brand of tuna that we are recommending later in this investigation that tests every single fish for mercury.

We noticed some of the largest tuna brands were using the organization SeaChange to source their tuna. In fact, we found some interesting language that was less than desirable and very easy for the consumer to confuse with MSC certification. In other words, they are not quite there yet. If you are reading this post looking for tuna that is already there, move along.

These are important because may I remind you, this is the largest producer of farmed Atlantic Salmon in the world. The farmed Atlantic Salmon industry has some problematic practices.

When unsanitary conditions are present in farmed Atlantic Salmon, companies have a wide array of anti-microbial drugs that can pose risks to human health and the environment to use. The salmon are also administered sedative yes, sedatives! They also use chemical disinfectants, including formaldehyde-based formalin a known carcinogen and bleach. Gear Type or Farming Method — The gear type for wild caught seafood can have very different impacts on the ocean floor and on other species accidentally caught in the gear.

For farm-raised species, different farming methods can have very different impacts on the surrounding environment and the native species that live there. Traceability systems — To ensure the accuracy of these label claims. Why should Canada implement better seafood labelling? Find out more Visit labelmyseafood. Our Work on Improving Seafood Labelling SeaChoice has been following federal food policies closely, to ensure our rationale for better seafood labelling is heard.

We also provided comments to the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations , focusing in on traceability requirements for the seafood supply chain. In an ever-growing world, our population will continue to put demands on our ocean resources.

Certified Sustainable. Farm Raised Responsibly. Certified DNA Tested. Certified Net Weight Tested. Learn More. About Us.