Sri Lanka blue crab is recommended as a 'good alternative' by the Seafood Watch program

Sri Lankan blue crab recommended as 'good alternative'

SRI LANKA
Thursday, January 17, 2019, 02:50 (GMT + 9)

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program has released new recommendations for several seafood products, including a "Good Alternative" recommendation for blue crab from Sri Lanka.

This cristacean has been in a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP), designed to produce the advancements needed to meet or exceed a Good Alternative rating.

"This announcement opens yet another pathway for responsibly sourced seafood through our international supply chain," said Bryan Rosenberg, President & CEO, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods. "In the current marketplace, it is simply not enough to be just a conduit for quality products, we must continue to engage at the source and be facilitators of responsible practices and solutions," he added.

In July 2016, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods (COSFF) joined the Sri Lankan Blue Swimming Crab FIP with supply chain partner, Taprobane Seafood Group. COSFF co-financed the development of a harvest control strategy for blue swimming crab fisheries in Sri Lanka.

"This is a wonderful first step in our partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium that rewards the hard work of the fishermen, scientists, and our supply chain partner in Sri Lanka, ensuring the long-term health of the fishery and dependable employment for those that rely on it," said Roxanne Nanninga, Sustainability Director of the Thai Union North America.

“This is our first Chicken of the Sea product resulting from SeaChange IGNITE which allows food service operators and retail consumers to access and choose responsibly sourced seafood. Our next steps for these products coming through the SeaChange IGNITE program will also carry essential traceability information on the packaging linked to a website that allows the product to be tracked back to its exact fishing area and through Taprobane's supply chain," she also explained.

Reaching this recommendation requires cooperation between both private companies and local government.

BSC bottom-set crab nets with catch entangled (photo courtesy of Steve Creech/seafoodwatch.org).

"Engagement with the Sri Lankan government has been critical to advancing fishery improvements in the region," said Jennifer Kemmerly, Director of Global Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

"Their efforts have culminated in a more sustainable fishery and now a new relationship with SeaChange IGNITE. This relationship, and the resulting market connections, can help incentivize fisheries improvements in other regions," she added.

Companies that founded the organization SeaChange Ignite (Left). On the right, working women from Sri Lanka processing blue crab (Photo: Monterrey Bay Aquarium)

SeaChange IGNITE is a collaboration between Monterey Bay Aquarium and Chicken of the Sea, to advance new sustainability initiatives and improvements throughout the supply chain and further contribute to Thai Union's SeaChange sustainability strategy.

The combined commitment for the initiative is USD 73 million through 2025, with a focus on improvements in Southeast Asia and other key seafood producing regions.

Thai Union Group PCL. is a world leader in seafood with over 40 years of experience and a strong commitment to innovation and responsible behavior worldwide. The company is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF).

Thai Union presented its SeaChange® sustainability strategy in 2015.

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