A groundbreaking statement has been issued at this week’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, calling for a new global seafood traceability system to give full access to information about marine fishing practices.
The statement is the first multi-stakeholder call for such a system, and could herald an important role for the World Economic Forum in support of sustainable fisheries, says WWF, one of the organisations joining the call.
The statement recognises the urgent need for tracing fish products from ‘bait to plate’ as a means for linking markets to sustainable fishing practices and for ending illegal fishing.
Experts estimate that 20% of worldwide fish catches come from illegal fishing practices, and WWF says that solutions depend heavily on giving market actors and regulators reliable information to know which fish products are legal and sustainable and which are not. However, the organisation says that currently access to this information is not sufficient.
“Making commercial fishing sustainable is a critical global challenge,” said Jim Leape, director general of WWF. “The joint statement released in Davos points the way to one important part of the solution.”
Creating a reliable system for seafood traceability will require harmonising both regulatory and commercial practices across national boundaries and across subsectors of the seafood industry, ranging from small scale producers in developing countries to the major retail chains and brand owners in the European Union, US, and Japan.
