FishChoice Sustainable
Seafood Newsletter
May 20, 2016

Port State Measures Agreement
Seafood Spotlight: Summer Flounder
New FishChoice Supplier Member - Taste of BC Aquafarms Inc.
Sustainable Seafood News and Notes

Port State Measures Agreement

In 2009, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations issued the Port State Measures Agreement to "Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing" - the 'Agreement.' As recently as 2014, only 10 of the necessary 30 countries had signed the agreement. The U.S. became the 20th country in January of this year and just this week, the 30th party (29 countries and the EU) now put this agreement into action beginning June 6, 2016. What does this mean?

Parties to the agreement designate specific ports for use by foreign vessels and allow for inspection of fish and gear
Parties must deny entry or inspect vessels identified as suspects in illegal fishing activity
Parties that have limited enforcement capacity will benefit from a global investment to develop resources
The 30 parties globally account for approximately 60% of imports and 50% of exports

We look forward to sharing good news in the future that the estimated $23B USD in illegal fishing every year is significantly reduced.

Seafood Spotlight: Summer Flounder

Prior to the new 2016 Seafood Watch assessment for summer flounder, nearly 2/3 of this seafood landed in the U.S. met the 'Good Alternative (yellow)' recommendation and the remaining 1/3 was not rated. With the report identifying that only handline-caught summer flounder from the U.S. meets the 'Good Alternative' recommendation, only 2% of U.S. landings (based on 2014 data) now qualify. While 10 states have landings for summer flounder, over 90% of handline-caught summer flounder comes from 4 states: Rhode Island (44%), New York (22%), Massachusetts (15%), and Virginia (10%). Learn more and get the latest updates with FishChoice's summer flounder seafood buying guide.

New FishChoice Supplier Member

Taste of BC Aquafarms Inc.
(Nanaimo, British Columbia)

Taste of BC Aquafarms Inc. is a land based aquafarm specializing in steelhead trout. Located in Nanaimo, British Columbia, the farm which has been in the family for decades, sells it's Ocean Wise recommended steelhead trout under the Little Cedar Falls brand. Raising their fish in a closed, land-based system, allows Taste of BC Aquafarms to raise their trout with very little risk of disease, thus avoiding the need to use antibiotics, steroids, or hormones. Using a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) allows Taste of BC Aquafarms to produce their fish on land, limiting adverse environmental impact.
FishChoice Supplier Member Profile & Product