Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
strategically engage conservation organisations, industry leaders and consumers.
For example, employing the model that has proved effective in the US, the Al-
liance formally announced its expansion to Europe at the 2005 European Seafood
Exposition in Brussels. With offices in the US, Paris and London, and partners
in South America, Asia and around the world, the Alliance is actively engaging
leaders up and down the seafood supply chain in open dialogue and in search of
opportunities to 'green' their operations in favour of sustainability. The second
annual business roundtable at the 2007 European Seafood Exposition brought to-
gether 23 buyers and suppliers from Germany, France, the US, the Netherlands,
the UK and Switzerland to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by
the global seafood market. The Alliance also continues to employ a marketing ap-
proach, recently partnering with WWF, Greenpeace, the North Sea Foundation and
the Marine Conservation Society (UK) to conduct public opinion research in Eu-
rope on consumer demands for information about where seafood comes from and
how it was harvested. Seafood Choices Alliance is using this information to design
programmes to harness the growing global interest in changing the seafood market
and to influence large consumers of seafood from Asia and the Pacific to Europe and
Canada.
7.5
Conclusions
From small beginnings - focus groups that assessed the levels of awareness and
understanding of members of the public and seafood professionals - the Seafood
Choices Alliance, and the broader movement it serves and leads, is emerging as a
genuinely global force, working towards a world of environmentally responsible
seafood. There is no longer much debate between industry and environmentalists
about the condition of the oceans and the global depletion of many wild fisheries
- 'sustainable seafood' is now on the lips of most everyone connected to the in-
dustry. New sustainable seafood activities are launched almost daily across the
globe.
The discussion now centres on how suppliers and retailers will operationalise
sustainability - in other words, what to do next and how best to do it. This new mo-
mentum has created enormous opportunities and challenges for the industry and the
Alliance. Shifting demand and influencing a dynamic, global marketplace in favour
of ocean-friendly seafood requires a multitude of tactics, resources and expertise.
Fisheries certification is but one solution and has become more complicated as
'organic' certification for farmed seafood gains ground. Issue campaigns and edu-
cation efforts raise consumer awareness and distinguish between the environmental
impacts of different seafoods. Partnerships between marine conservation organisa-
tions and large seafood buyers are becoming increasingly common. Importantly,
these myriad approaches work together to bring about the vision of a sustainable
seafood marketplace. The Alliance continues to help the seafood industry navigate
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