Sustainable Seafood Certification
Table of contents
What is it?
Sustainable seafood has a broad meaning covering ecologically responsible fishing that minimizes by-catch, capture of non-target species, and yields acceptable levels of ecosystem and environmental impacts. Although exact definitions vary, it can be thought of as taking numbers of each species from the ocean at a rate low enough that over the long term the species numbers remain stable. In nature, the carrying capacity of a species is dictated by its number of young, frequency of reproduction, age when it becomes reproductive, size, lifespan, required space, and level of predation and disease. Since each species is different, the need for regular surveys is critical to ascertaining numbers.
Sustainable seafood certification is a means of communicating to a discerning consumer that a seafood product sold in stores and restaurants was harvested in a sustainable manner. The mark of a sustainably fished seafood is often labeled prominently on a products packaging as a means of advertisement. Sustainable labels work by exploiting a capitalistic economic system in which the consumer can choose not just between multiple seafood products but multiple suppliers as well. Sustainable seafood often has an added premium which is used to cover the cost to fisherman in harvesting seafood sustainably instead of haphazardly.
Sustainable seafood certification is a means of communicating to a discerning consumer that a seafood product sold in stores and restaurants was harvested in a sustainable manner. The mark of a sustainably fished seafood is often labeled prominently on a products packaging as a means of advertisement. Sustainable labels work by exploiting a capitalistic economic system in which the consumer can choose not just between multiple seafood products but multiple suppliers as well. Sustainable seafood often has an added premium which is used to cover the cost to fisherman in harvesting seafood sustainably instead of haphazardly.
What is the problem?
[8] (Stephen McGowan/ Australian Maritime College) Prawn trawl by-catch.
Sustainable seafood certification was created from consumer demand brought on by increased consumer awareness and dissatisfaction with inefficient fishing methods such as long-lining, otter trawling, gill netting, and purse seining. These fishing methods often catch vast quantities of animals with little bias towards species and may physically alter the environment. With the historically recent advent of larger and stronger boats, fish detection systems, synthetic netting materials, and more powerful engines fishing fleets have proven themselves capable of removing species faster than they can reproduce effectively fishing them to extinction.
One of the most noted examples is the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery in the early 1990’s with the loss of 1.5-2.5 billion reproductive individuals and some 40,000 fisherman losing their livelihood. Cod had been fished by Europeans in Canadian waters since at least the late 15th century when total harvests were less than 100,000 metric tons until the late 18th century where catches jumped as high as 300,000 metric tons. Between 1910 and 1940, harvests declined to less than 150,000 metric tons before the 1960’s when European factory based trawlers increased catch dramatically to 810,000 metric tons in 1968. By 1977 the numbers of cod had declined more than 90% and not returned since.
This is not a problem limited to cod as data shows. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, over 80% of global fish stocks are either fully exploited or overfished and commercial fish stocks have been estimated to disappear by 2048 by the United Nations Environmental Program. Despite the threat to wild fisheries, seafood consumption is rising via a shift in diet and a growing human population. The USA now consumes about five times the amount of fish it did 100 years ago from 500,000 metric tons in 1910 to 2.2 million metric tons in 2004. On a global scale, per capita consumption of marine fishes has nearly doubled since the 1960s. Even greater still is the amount of fish harvested for non-human consumption or animal feed for land based livestock such as pigs and chickens which consume six and two times the amount of seafood as US and Japanese consumers respectively, and this isn’t counting the rising aquaculture business.
One of the most noted examples is the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery in the early 1990’s with the loss of 1.5-2.5 billion reproductive individuals and some 40,000 fisherman losing their livelihood. Cod had been fished by Europeans in Canadian waters since at least the late 15th century when total harvests were less than 100,000 metric tons until the late 18th century where catches jumped as high as 300,000 metric tons. Between 1910 and 1940, harvests declined to less than 150,000 metric tons before the 1960’s when European factory based trawlers increased catch dramatically to 810,000 metric tons in 1968. By 1977 the numbers of cod had declined more than 90% and not returned since.
This is not a problem limited to cod as data shows. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, over 80% of global fish stocks are either fully exploited or overfished and commercial fish stocks have been estimated to disappear by 2048 by the United Nations Environmental Program. Despite the threat to wild fisheries, seafood consumption is rising via a shift in diet and a growing human population. The USA now consumes about five times the amount of fish it did 100 years ago from 500,000 metric tons in 1910 to 2.2 million metric tons in 2004. On a global scale, per capita consumption of marine fishes has nearly doubled since the 1960s. Even greater still is the amount of fish harvested for non-human consumption or animal feed for land based livestock such as pigs and chickens which consume six and two times the amount of seafood as US and Japanese consumers respectively, and this isn’t counting the rising aquaculture business.
In order to battle the inefficiencies of seafood harvest, growing numbers of concerned consumers have turned to sustainable fisheries in lieu of increased short term revenue for suppliers.
Key players
The first major consumer seafood sustainability campaign was the boycott of canned tuna during the late 1980's. The issue here was not just with the amount of by-catch but one type of by-catch in particular, dolphins. In 1990 the first eco-label was produced to differentiate tuna caught without the harm to dolphins called “dolphin safe”. Seven years later the first certification created for sustainable fisheries was established in the form of the Marine Stewardship Council.
Dolphin safe
[12] (USDC)
Starting in the 1950s to today over 6 million dolphins have been killed for tuna. While there has never been a risk of finding dolphin in a can, it is the strange relationship of dolphins with a single species of tuna that has led to some 6 million avoidable deaths. In Eastern Tropical Pacific waters, fishermen wishing to catch yellowfin tuna discovered a unique method of locating their catch. While dolphins and yellowfin tuna are global species, yellowfin tuna have the strange behavior of aggregating under dolphins in Eastern Tropical Pacific waters exclusively. Using new fishing technology known as purse seining, fishermen encircle schools of dolphins with large nets which can extend for a mile and sink 300 feet below the surface. Speed boats and helicopters may be used to herd the dolphins into the net while tuna, which follow below, are trapped. Large winches attached to ships then pull the net in closing the net at the bottom by drawing in a lead line which constricts the net bottom much like a drawstring purse. During the capture and chase, dolphins may become separated, injured, or drown. The tuna caught with this method make up just 10% of the tuna caught worldwide leaving little economic justification for this killing.
In 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed with a special focus on dolphins and through this law scientific studies were initiated, observers were placed on fishing boats, fishing gear inspected, and captains with high dolphin mortality rates reviewed. By the end of the 1970s, kill numbers declined from around 500,000 to 20,000 per year. While dolphins experienced less fishing pressure for a time, foreign fishing fleets increased size and efforts in the Eastern Tropical Pacific while US fishing fleets retreated. While the Marine Mammal Protection Act decreased kills from US efforts, it had no jurisdiction with foreign fishing efforts and dolphin mortality rates began to increase again. Increasingly displeased American consumers boycotted tuna in the 1980's and amid falling sales, tuna canning firms began purchasing tuna from “dolphin safe” fisherman. While US jurisdiction could not prevent the killing of dolphins by foreign tuna fisherman, it could impose an import ban on tuna from countries which killed more dolphins than the US. This is a tactic which proved effective noting that the US is the largest market for canned tuna of the yellowfin tuna fishery.
Due to political pressures, the number of annual reported dolphin kills dropped considerably. Starting in 1993 several fishing countries increased observer coverage, instituted skipper review panels, and started to meet a schedule of decreasing dolphin quotas to regain access to US markets and by 1999 the reported dolphin mortality rate was reduced to fewer than 3,000 per year. Since this time the leniency on the definition of “dolphin safe” tuna has increased so that “dolphin safe” is now defined as tuna caught in nets as long as no dolphins were observed to be killed or seriously injured. Today there are almost no US registered tuna boats fishing in the Eastern Tropical Pacific while 75% of the Eastern Tropical Pacific fishing fleet is under Mexican registry meaning many of these fishing boats are self-regulating making it difficult if not impossible for consumers to detect fraudulent claims. With the majority of tuna fishing in the Eastern Tropical Pacific by foreign fleets, serious cases have been placed against the US stating that the current embargo is protectionist, of what few US tuna boats remain, and unlawful. With increased foreign economic pressures the “dolphin safe” label inches closer to dissolving. Even still, 90% of the global tuna harvest is in fact “dolphin safe” considering the localized nature of this fishing method.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
[15] (MSC) MSC logo.
Today the MSC label is the best established and most widely discussed fisheries certification with around 10% of the annual global harvest of wild capture fisheries being either MSC certified or in the full assessment process as of 2011. As of November 2011, 134 fisheries are certified and 135 are in the full assessment process. But what is the Marine Stewardship Council?
The MSC was founded in 1997 by the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and Unilever becoming a non-governmental organization and non-profit shortly thereafter. The primary function of the MSC is to set and maintain two standards, one for sustainable fishing and one for seafood traceability. For impartiality, third-party certifying bodies assess companies to the standards and grant actual certification.
Under the first standard for sustainable fishing, fishing activity must be at a level in which any certified fishery can continue indefinitely without over exploiting its resources. Management must be done to maintain the structure, productivity, function, and diversity of the ecosystem on which the fishery depends. Finally, the fishery must have an adaptive management system in place which works within local, national, and international laws.
The second standard for seafood traceability is for companies in the seafood supply chain. To get Chain of Custody certification, businesses must be audited to show they have effective traceability, storage and record-keeping systems which prove that only seafood from a certified fishery carries the MSC ecolabel. For example, companies have to show that they keep certified fish separate from non-certified fish, and that they can trace every delivery of certified fish to a Chain of Custody certified supplier.
Every company with a valid Chain of Custody certificate is given a unique certificate code that must be displayed on consumer-ready certified seafood products to show buyers and consumers that they are buying from an approved supplier. The MSC ecolabel can only be used on seafood from an MSC certified fishery by businesses that have a valid MSC Chain of Custody certificate.
To gain fishery or Chain of Custody certification a company must contact a third-party MSC accredited certifier for assessment. If compliant with the standards set forth by the MSC, a fishery is certified for a period of five years and subject to annual reviews of performance. At the end of five years the fishery must undergo a full assessment to maintain certification. A company with Chain of Custody certification is certified for a lesser period of three years with annual reviews. All of this work is done to guarantee that the fish that ultimately ends up on your plate indeed came from a sustainable source.
The MSC was founded in 1997 by the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and Unilever becoming a non-governmental organization and non-profit shortly thereafter. The primary function of the MSC is to set and maintain two standards, one for sustainable fishing and one for seafood traceability. For impartiality, third-party certifying bodies assess companies to the standards and grant actual certification.
Under the first standard for sustainable fishing, fishing activity must be at a level in which any certified fishery can continue indefinitely without over exploiting its resources. Management must be done to maintain the structure, productivity, function, and diversity of the ecosystem on which the fishery depends. Finally, the fishery must have an adaptive management system in place which works within local, national, and international laws.
The second standard for seafood traceability is for companies in the seafood supply chain. To get Chain of Custody certification, businesses must be audited to show they have effective traceability, storage and record-keeping systems which prove that only seafood from a certified fishery carries the MSC ecolabel. For example, companies have to show that they keep certified fish separate from non-certified fish, and that they can trace every delivery of certified fish to a Chain of Custody certified supplier.
Every company with a valid Chain of Custody certificate is given a unique certificate code that must be displayed on consumer-ready certified seafood products to show buyers and consumers that they are buying from an approved supplier. The MSC ecolabel can only be used on seafood from an MSC certified fishery by businesses that have a valid MSC Chain of Custody certificate.
To gain fishery or Chain of Custody certification a company must contact a third-party MSC accredited certifier for assessment. If compliant with the standards set forth by the MSC, a fishery is certified for a period of five years and subject to annual reviews of performance. At the end of five years the fishery must undergo a full assessment to maintain certification. A company with Chain of Custody certification is certified for a lesser period of three years with annual reviews. All of this work is done to guarantee that the fish that ultimately ends up on your plate indeed came from a sustainable source.
One benefit of the program can be increased sales and revenue generated by consumers choosing to buy MSC certified seafood and this creates incentives for businesses to join the program. The first MSC certified restaurant in the United States is in Portland, Oregon (Bamboo Sushi) and even corporate giant Walmart has taken notice. Walmart promised in 2006 that by 2011 it would sell only MSC certified fish. Although Walmart did not make this deadline it has made a considerable change since then. As of now the deadline to be certified or to develop work plans to achieve certification has been pushed back to June 2012 and Walmart now promises that all fresh and frozen, farmed, and wild seafood products sold at Walmart and Sam’s Club is to become certified as sustainable by a third party using Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) or equivalent standards. As of January 28th 2011, the company claims that 73% of stocked fish carried is MSC certified or ACC farmed certified though this claim has yet to be verified.
Issues
[16] (NOAA) Chilean sea bass, AKA Patagonian toothfish.
While the MSC works to provide criteria for the certification of sustainable fisheries, the process has not gone without controversy. In a 2011 study of MSC labeled Chilean Sea Bass, a sample of 13 fish was genetically tested to find if the MSC labeled fish originated from a sustainable stock. From this 13 fish sample, 46% were found to be falsely labeled. The MSC is looking seriously into this claim which may prove to be the first MSC fishery to have its certification revoked. As of September 23, 2011 the investigation has been stalled due to lack of evidence including place of sampling, date/time of sampling, MSC Chain of Custody certificate number, and product form.
Bigger still is the controversy as to whether Chilean sea bass fished from the Ross Sea can
even be considered sustainable. There is simply not enough scientific data about this stock to make an informed decision regarding sustainability. David Ainley, a researcher in the Ross Sea with the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, is staunchly against Moody Marine's, third party certifier, decision on allowing certification to pass. "It is astonishing that anyone could determine that the Area 88 toothfish
fishery is sustainable when no one even knows what the natural mortality is or how often or where toothfish spawn". Regarding the complaints, the MSC appointed a lawyer with experience in fisheries management, Michael Lodge, to assess Moody Marine's procedures taken. Six scores that Moody Marine awarded to the fishery were found to be unjustified but the company refused to change its scores.
Amid the controversy, MSC certification appears to be making progress with environmental fishery impacts. In the first study of MSC fishery performance assessed by MRAG Ltd, Poseidon Ltd and Meridian Prime Ltd, MSC certified fisheries have shown positive environmental change since 2009. In this report, MSC fisheries after five years certification have yielded higher scores in management of stocks, reduced capture of bycatch, shorter fishing effort, expansion of environmentally protected areas, and increased knowledge about ecosystem impacts among involved fishers.
Bigger still is the controversy as to whether Chilean sea bass fished from the Ross Sea can
even be considered sustainable. There is simply not enough scientific data about this stock to make an informed decision regarding sustainability. David Ainley, a researcher in the Ross Sea with the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, is staunchly against Moody Marine's, third party certifier, decision on allowing certification to pass. "It is astonishing that anyone could determine that the Area 88 toothfish
fishery is sustainable when no one even knows what the natural mortality is or how often or where toothfish spawn". Regarding the complaints, the MSC appointed a lawyer with experience in fisheries management, Michael Lodge, to assess Moody Marine's procedures taken. Six scores that Moody Marine awarded to the fishery were found to be unjustified but the company refused to change its scores.
Amid the controversy, MSC certification appears to be making progress with environmental fishery impacts. In the first study of MSC fishery performance assessed by MRAG Ltd, Poseidon Ltd and Meridian Prime Ltd, MSC certified fisheries have shown positive environmental change since 2009. In this report, MSC fisheries after five years certification have yielded higher scores in management of stocks, reduced capture of bycatch, shorter fishing effort, expansion of environmentally protected areas, and increased knowledge about ecosystem impacts among involved fishers.
.
[17] (Hartmut Inerle) Lobster trap.
Another issue surrounding certifications is the cost to fishermen. Fisheries pay independent third-party certifiers a fee to cover the costs of a thorough assessment which can vary between $15,000 to $120,000, or perhaps more for complex assessments with multiple units of certification. Smaller fisheries may not be able to afford this startup cost which puts them in a negative light with consumers who choose alternate products based on the smaller fisheries lack of eco-label regardless if they are in fact sustainable. A good example of this is the Maine lobster fishery which is inherently sustainable because lobster pots have very little by-catch, do not alter the ocean bottom unless caught on something during retrieval, and is terribly inefficient in catching lobster leaving many to reproduce. Those not familiar with the lobster fishery may simply not purchase lobster thinking that without MSC certification it must not be a sustainable option. On the other hand there is little incentive for lobster fishermen to buy into the certification because the guaranteed price premium is just not there.
Another issue still is the flood of information available to consumers, much of which appears to contradict each other. In an effort to inform consumers of sustainable options, several non-profit conservation groups have made seafood guides which ignore the global nature of fish. Many seafood guides have a regional focus mainly on fish caught by national fisheries which is inappropriate given that the US imports 80% of its seafood. The guides have also been criticized for being indiscriminate towards responsible or irresponsible fishing operators that make up those fisheries.
While consumers appear to be choosing sustainably labeled sea food, the results remain weak for sustainable seafood guides. After distributing 1 million seafood wallet cards, the Monterey Bay Aquarium conducted a study that showed that fishing pressures had not decreased for target species. Similarly the top three consumed seafood items in the USA; shrimp, tuna, and salmon, remain the least sustainable amid the use of eco-labels.
While consumers appear to be choosing sustainably labeled sea food, the results remain weak for sustainable seafood guides. After distributing 1 million seafood wallet cards, the Monterey Bay Aquarium conducted a study that showed that fishing pressures had not decreased for target species. Similarly the top three consumed seafood items in the USA; shrimp, tuna, and salmon, remain the least sustainable amid the use of eco-labels.
As of now, small scale fisheries are probably our best hope for sustainable fisheries as they tend to use more passive gear such as simple hook and line fishing which produces little by-catch. This is also an economically sound option as it employs 25 times more people and uses 25% of the fuel to catch the same amount of fish as large scale industrial fishing fleets. The problem with this is that the larger fleets while more inefficient are heavily subsidized.
While seafood guides are losing favor, targeting large retailers has proven effective. For example, In May of 2008, 14 American and Canadian organizations formed the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions and released their Common Vision for Environmentally Stable Seafood. In the US, the 10 largest companies make up 50% of the US seafood market and have immense buying power compared to local fishmongers. Making sustainable choices is easier when unsustainable choices do not even make it to the consumer level. Furthermore, large retailers appear concerned about wild fish stocks on the grounds that sustainability is good for business. In this tricky world of consumer seafood fraud, sustainable seafood certifications such as the MSC remain one of the best methods of ensuring sustainable seafood beside catching it yourself.
While seafood guides are losing favor, targeting large retailers has proven effective. For example, In May of 2008, 14 American and Canadian organizations formed the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions and released their Common Vision for Environmentally Stable Seafood. In the US, the 10 largest companies make up 50% of the US seafood market and have immense buying power compared to local fishmongers. Making sustainable choices is easier when unsustainable choices do not even make it to the consumer level. Furthermore, large retailers appear concerned about wild fish stocks on the grounds that sustainability is good for business. In this tricky world of consumer seafood fraud, sustainable seafood certifications such as the MSC remain one of the best methods of ensuring sustainable seafood beside catching it yourself.
What you can do
It is important to remember that as a consumer we all have a voice in how and what makes it to the market. If people refuse to purchase a product based on how it was acquired then suppliers will have no choice but to alter its methods or lose a valuable source of revenue. Choose products that reflect your ideals. Do not support subsidized fishing practices. Buy based on sustainability labels but encourage testing to validate sustainability claims. Make your goals known to large seafood corporations and reward their promises with business. Demand that seafood increase its labeling of products to include the scientific name, method of catch (i.e. hook and line, otter trawl, etc), and area of capture. Lastly, become familiar with fishery methods and other aspects of sustainability.
Citations (content)
Golan, Elise; Kuchler, Fred; Mitchell, Lorraine. 2001. Economics of food labeling. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Economic Report No. (AER793), pp.1-49.
Goyert, Wendy; Sagarin, Raphael; Annala, John. 2010. The promise and pitfalls of Marine Stewardship Council certification: Maine lobster as a case study. Marine Policy. Vol. 34, pp.1103-1109.
Hutchings, Jeffrey; Rangeley, Robert. 2011. Correlates of recovery for Canadian Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Canadian Journal of Zoology. Vol. 89, pp.386-400.
Jacquet, Jennifer et al. 2010. Conserving wild fish in a sea of market-based efforts. Oryx, The International Journal of Conservation. Vol. 44, pp.45-56.
Jeaneau, Hubert; Hudson, Julie; Morgan-Knott, Shirley. 2011. Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood. UBS Investment Research. pp.1-55.
Marine Stewardship Council. Website: www.msc.org.
Marko, Peter; Nance, Holly; Guynn, Kimberly. 2011. Genetic detection of mislabeled fish from a sustainable fishery. Current Biology. Vol. 21, pp.R621-R622.
McClearn, Matthew. 2010. Something’s fishy. Canadian Business. Vol. 83, pp.71-74.
Parsons, Sarah. March 29, 2011. Progress! Walmart updates its sustainable seafood policy. Change.org. Website: http://news.change.org/stories/progress-walmart-updates-its-sustainable-seafood-policy.
Southwest Fisheries Science Center. 2008. The tuna-dolphin issue. NOAA. Website: http://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?Division=PRD&ParentMenuId=228&id=1408.
Stokstad, Erik. 2010. Behind the eco-label, a debate over Atlantic toothfish. Science. Vol. 329, pp. 1596-1597. Website: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/329/5999/1596.full.
Walmart 2011 global responsibility report. Walmart. Website: http://walmartstores.com/sites/ResponsibilityReport/2011/Goal3_sell_products.aspx.
(Updated) Walmart global responsibility report. Walmart. Website: http://walmartstores.com/download/4737.pdf.
Wikepedia articles under (Dolphin safe label) and (Sustainable seafood).
Goyert, Wendy; Sagarin, Raphael; Annala, John. 2010. The promise and pitfalls of Marine Stewardship Council certification: Maine lobster as a case study. Marine Policy. Vol. 34, pp.1103-1109.
Hutchings, Jeffrey; Rangeley, Robert. 2011. Correlates of recovery for Canadian Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Canadian Journal of Zoology. Vol. 89, pp.386-400.
Jacquet, Jennifer et al. 2010. Conserving wild fish in a sea of market-based efforts. Oryx, The International Journal of Conservation. Vol. 44, pp.45-56.
Jeaneau, Hubert; Hudson, Julie; Morgan-Knott, Shirley. 2011. Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood. UBS Investment Research. pp.1-55.
Marine Stewardship Council. Website: www.msc.org.
Marko, Peter; Nance, Holly; Guynn, Kimberly. 2011. Genetic detection of mislabeled fish from a sustainable fishery. Current Biology. Vol. 21, pp.R621-R622.
McClearn, Matthew. 2010. Something’s fishy. Canadian Business. Vol. 83, pp.71-74.
Parsons, Sarah. March 29, 2011. Progress! Walmart updates its sustainable seafood policy. Change.org. Website: http://news.change.org/stories/progress-walmart-updates-its-sustainable-seafood-policy.
Southwest Fisheries Science Center. 2008. The tuna-dolphin issue. NOAA. Website: http://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?Division=PRD&ParentMenuId=228&id=1408.
Stokstad, Erik. 2010. Behind the eco-label, a debate over Atlantic toothfish. Science. Vol. 329, pp. 1596-1597. Website: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/329/5999/1596.full.
Walmart 2011 global responsibility report. Walmart. Website: http://walmartstores.com/sites/ResponsibilityReport/2011/Goal3_sell_products.aspx.
(Updated) Walmart global responsibility report. Walmart. Website: http://walmartstores.com/download/4737.pdf.
Wikepedia articles under (Dolphin safe label) and (Sustainable seafood).
Citations (pictures in order of appearance)
[1]Msc certified mackeral: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6277057.stm (BBC)
[2]Msc cod fillets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5551313218/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[3]Msc crab legs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5550731819/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[4]Msc pollock fillets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5551313290/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[5]Msc salmon fillets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5550731741/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[6]Msc shrimp: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5550731657/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[7]Msc whiting fillets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5551313192/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[8]Prawn trawl by-catch: http://www.marinephotobank.com/secure/gallery-photo-search.php?search_for=bycatch (Stephen McGowan/ Australian Maritime College)
[9]Feed conversion ratios: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[10]Per capita seafood consumption: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[11]World capture fisheries production: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[12]Dolphin safe US department of commerce: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2826.htm (NOAA)
[13]How purse seine works: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8090277.stm (BBC)
[14]Purse seine and speedboats: http://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?Division=PRD&ParentMenuId=228&id=1408 (NOAA)
[15]MSC logo: www.msc.org (MSC)
[16]Patagonian toothfish: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/rss/podcasts/weirdfins/antifreeze_fish.htm (NOAA)
[17]Lobster trap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lobster_trap.jpg Wikimedia commons (Hartmut Inerle)
[18]Top three consumed species: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[19]US top ten consumed species: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[2]Msc cod fillets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5551313218/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[3]Msc crab legs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5550731819/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[4]Msc pollock fillets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5551313290/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[5]Msc salmon fillets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5550731741/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[6]Msc shrimp: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5550731657/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[7]Msc whiting fillets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmartcorporate/5551313192/sizes/l/in/set-72157626328389040/ (Walmart Stores)
[8]Prawn trawl by-catch: http://www.marinephotobank.com/secure/gallery-photo-search.php?search_for=bycatch (Stephen McGowan/ Australian Maritime College)
[9]Feed conversion ratios: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[10]Per capita seafood consumption: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[11]World capture fisheries production: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[12]Dolphin safe US department of commerce: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2826.htm (NOAA)
[13]How purse seine works: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8090277.stm (BBC)
[14]Purse seine and speedboats: http://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?Division=PRD&ParentMenuId=228&id=1408 (NOAA)
[15]MSC logo: www.msc.org (MSC)
[16]Patagonian toothfish: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/rss/podcasts/weirdfins/antifreeze_fish.htm (NOAA)
[17]Lobster trap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lobster_trap.jpg Wikimedia commons (Hartmut Inerle)
[18]Top three consumed species: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)
[19]US top ten consumed species: (UBS Investment Research, Q-Series®: Sustainable Seafood)