Gulf Seafood Institute’s Florida board member David Krebs (second from left) joined a panel speaking at the Seafood Expo Asia in Hong Kong. Photo: Seafood Expo Asia
from SeafoodSource.com
Lack of funding of government agencies monitoring fish catches is one of the biggest challenges to sustainability of the seafood industry according to an international industry panel that included the Gulf Seafood Institute’s board member David Krebs. The panel, speaking at the Seafood Expo Asia in Hong Kong, also called for a refocus on fishermen’s livelihoods as well as education of consumers.
Educating seafood consumers about seafood sustainability is important but can only go so far said Krebs, president of Florida, U.S.-based Ariel Seafoods and a board member of the group representing the Gulf of Mexico seafood distribution chain.
“If you don’t have stringent controls you will have overfishing and boom-bust cycles,” he told SeafoodSource.com.
Educating seafood consumers about seafood sustainability is important but can only go so far said Krebs, president of Florida, U.S.-based Ariel Seafoods, pictured at Seafood Expo North America. Photo; Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
Budgetary curbs in the U.S. can hurt in particular the international cooperation required to monitor fishing stocks, said Krebs. He points to the importance of fisheries management upstream in Canada for U.S. fishing stocks. “An event upstream can dictate how successful you are with quota management downstream thus we need to understand fisheries landings and forage fish. Likewise, a study of shark populations in the Gulf of Mexico requires effective exchange of information between U.S. fisheries and counterparts in Cuba and Mexico.
One U.S. seafood veteran said he worries about resourcing of fisheries monitoring authorities in the U.S and elsewhere. “We might have great stock assessment but if there’s no adequate catch monitoring it’s not going to be effective,” Rick Robbins said. “We need adequate resources for that.”
An increasing focus among consumers on transparency and country of origin labeling of seafood goes hand in hand with sustainability.
“The market establishes and dictates priorities,” said Robbins, head of export sales at U.S.-based Chesapeake Bay Packing, which has secured both British Retail Consortium and Marine Stewardship Council certification for its scallop business.
The panel also included: Yvonne Sadovy, a lecturer in the school of biological sciences at the University of Hong Kong, Dr. Mohamed Shainee, The Maldives minister for fisheries, Feng Yuming, vice president of China’s scallops leader Zhangzidao, and Philippe Moriau, managing director of Belgium Direct.
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