A new seafood label has been developed by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Central Coast Seafood in California in the US with the aim of assuring 100% catch accountability.
EDF says that “Ecolabels can be confusing: but we think that this one is clear. Choose fish from a catch share program that is 100% monitored and stand with American fishermen in a programme that sureties no overfishing.”
The label has resulted from what EDF calls the "conservation and economic benefits" of the Pacific groundfish catch share program, which in its first year has shown benefits of dramatic reductions in the number of discarded fish, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
And this is largely down to one strict requirement - 100% monitoring. An impartial federal observer now observes fishing operations on board West Coast groundfish boats, ensuring catch limits are never exceeded.
The label, which reads: '100% Federal At-Sea Monitoring: No Overfishing – Guaranteed' recognises fishermen who have made a commitment to sustainable fishing by entering the catch share program. Secondly, it gives consumers a better understanding of where their fish comes from to that they can make informed decisions at purchase.
