Framing Seafood Sustainability

Squamish Nation Elder Audrey Rivers

A traditional blessing from Squamish Nation Elder Audrey Rivers provided an evocative and emotional opening to the 9^th International Seafood Summit.  She welcomed people from the ‘Four Directions’ noting the relationship between the traditional medicine wheel and characteristics of each direction--including foresight from the east and hindsight from the west.  She spoke of the importance of honoring the past, acknowledging the present, and looking to the future.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson shared his thoughts on sustainability, inspired in part by his own experiences sailing and fishing as a young man in the Vancouver area.  He welcomed participants and thanked summit organizers for choosing Vancouver noting that local restaurants and chefs have been leaders in putting sustainable seafood into practice.  It’s Dine Out week in Vancouver so there are plenty of reasons to get out and enjoy what Vancouver restaurants have to offer!

Yvon Chouinard, Henry Demone, Jim Cannon

A provocative keynote speech from Patagonia founder and “accidental businessman” CEO Yvon Chouinard challenged summit participants to think more deeply about what sustainability really means.  “With 7 billion people on the planet—this finite planet--I don’t believe there’s any economic activity that is truly sustainable.  We have to qualify that word ‘sustainable’ with ‘less’ or ‘more’ in front of it.”  He appealed to the seafood industry to ask deeper and deeper questions as he chronicled his own journey to create a responsible business.

The opening plenary session also featured a dialog in response to the question ‘How Far Can and Should the Sustainable Movement Go in Improving Fisheries Worldwide?’ Jim Cannon from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership joined Yvon Chouinard and Henry Demone in the conversation facilitated by SeaWeb Vice President of Sustainable Markets, Melanie Siggs.

Afternoon sessions offered attendees a wide array of topics from which to choose. Chefs took center stage for a discussion entitled ‘Gatekeepers to Cuisine Consciousness—Chefs Explore Their Influence on, and Responsibility to, Sustainability. Vancouver-based Chef Robert Clark of C Restaurant—who is also a Seafood Champions finalist—talked about serving smaller portions and rotating menu items to account for seasonality as some ways to enhance sustainability. Chef Xavier DeShayes, Executive Chef of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center noted the role of a chef is to teach—whether it be the kitchen staff, front of house staff or clients. 

Rainbow Creek Dancers

The day was rounded off with a lively reception for all 700 plus delegates who were treated to traditional dancing from the Rainbow Creek Dancers and a focus on the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Initiative.

Tomorrow’s agenda is equally full—so stay tuned for more!

Seafood Summit: Day 1

As the day dawns in Vancouver, the snow-capped peaks surrounding English Bay provide a dramatic and inspiring backdrop to the start of the 9^th International Seafood Summit.  Nearly 700 attendees from more than 30 countries are gathering to address this year’s summit theme ‘Responsibility without Borders?’ 

Pre-meeting conversations on the topic have yielded many thoughts on the summit theme including the observation that fish and other marine species are simply not cognizant of the geographic borders that we humans tend to place so much stock in.  Examining responsibilities beyond the scope of traditional physical borders will be intriguing and thought-provoking and is sure to stimulate a great deal of dialog.

But the concept of borders doesn’t just refer to physical boundaries.  The summit theme also refers to responsibilities across sectors.  SeaWeb’s Seafood Summit brings together academics and government officials, business leaders and non-governmental organizations to help tackle the tough questions surrounding sustainability on the seafood supply chain.

Attendees are excited to be here and ready to tackle the challenges ahead!

Seafood Summit: Vancouver Island Shellfish Aquaculture Field Trip

The 2011 Seafood Summit kicked off early Saturday morning with 33 Summit attendees aboard a bus en route to Vancouver Island.  Despite the early hour, spirits were high as we embarked on an overnight adventure to learn about various shellfish farming operations on Vancouver Island. 

Pulling up nets with farmed scallops.

Leading the field trip were Bill Taylor, Bill Dewey and Jon Rowley of Taylor Shellfish Farms who run operations for Taylor Shellfish on Vancouver Island as well as in Seattle, Washington.  Aboard the ferry to Vancouver Island, Bill Dewey explained how ocean acidification is affecting the shellfish on their farms and how they’ve had to adapt to ensure longevity and sustainability of the shellfish, as well as their business. 

The idea of adapting to changing ocean chemistry was resonated by other shellfish farmers and fishermen we visited along the way, though ocean acidification isn’t the only thing they’re up against.  Land based runoff, natural predators and disease are also issues of daily concern when operating shellfish farms in the Pacific North West.

After lunch at Fanny Bay Inn, where legendary oyster burgers were served, and excursions to several shellfish farming facilities, attendees settled down for Q&A with folks from Taylor Shellfish and Canada's Department of Fisheries and Ocean.  There was great dialogue and lots of thought provoking questions among participants and everyone was very engaged in learning.

But there was also so fun to be had, and Bill, Bill & Jon had set up a lantern-lit wine and oyster tasting on the beach.  Attendees got to shuck fresh picked oysters and enjoy local wines and no one seemed to mind that it was very cold, very dark and their shoes and socks were soaked.  

The evening concluded with a trip to the brand new Vancouver Island University Marine Field Station – a facility designed with the surrounding environment in mind, including the ocean – and a delicious meal of fresh shellfish right out of the Bay prepared by Vancouver Island Culinary Institute students led by chef Xihn Dwelley of Xinh's Clam & Oyster House in Shelton, Washington.  The station is two weeks away from its public debut, but station manager, Brian Kingzett, made a special exception for Summit attendees so he could show off all the beautiful, eco-friendly new building, the great science research work they’re doing, and the delicious culinary expertise of the students. The Field Station will afford VI University marine science students the opportunity to conduct field research in Deep Bay and lab work in the lower level of the field station.  Some of the students were on hand to tell us about their research and explain the unique centerpieces at each table (shown above right).  Each flask held water and live shellfish from the bay and next to it was a flask with murky, algae-filled water.  The students advised us to pour the ‘dirty’ water into the larger shellfish-filled flask and watch them go to work.  By the end of the delectable meal the water was clear again – a creative demonstration of the important ecosystem services shellfish provide.

Special thanks to Bill Taylor, Bill Dewey, Jon Rowley, Brian Kingzett, Brian Yip and Philip Chou for making the field trip a very memorable one for participants.

We're looking forward to officially welcoming everyone to the Summit and getting everyone checked in at registration this afternoon.  More to come as we talk sustainable seafood at this year's Seafood Summit!

Will you be in Vancouver for the 2011 Seafood Summit?

We hope to see you at the upcoming ninth annual Seafood Summit: "Responsibility without Borders?," to be held in Vancouver, Canada, from January 31 to February 2, 2011.

The Seafood Summit brings together global representatives from the seafood industry and conservation community for in-depth discussions, presentations and networking with the goal of making the seafood marketplace environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

In addition to the exciting presentations being given at the Summit— including from keynote speaker Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard—we will have two unique field trip opportunities, one before and another after the Summit.

Can't be there in person? Follow our SeaWeb in Action blog to keep you up-to-date about what's happening at the Summit!

Leaving China with Hope for a Sustainable Future

Blogging from the Beijing airport before boarding my flight back to D.C. Tuesday concluded a day spent on the trade show floor of the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo. This is the largest seafood trade show in Asia. It had approximately 800 exhibitors in three separate halls, one featuring international companies and the other two domestic. This year was also the first year for the trade show to include a Sustainable Seafood Pavilion housing stands from Det Norske Veritas, GlobalGap, Marine Stewardship Council, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, WWF and ourselves, SeaWeb's Seafood Choices Program.

At the booth, we featured information about the upcoming Seafood Summit to be held January 31 to February 2 in Vancouver, Canada, including postcards about the event and other material in Chinese. The Seafood Summit is a unique conference that brings together global representatives from the seafood industry and conservation community for in-depth discussions, presentations and networking with the goal of making the seafood marketplace environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

As the seafood industry increasingly focuses its tention on China as the world's largest seafood exporter and largest potential market for seafood consumption, SeaWeb is working with other organizations to scope our potential collaborative role in catalyzing greater sustainable practices in the Chinese marketplace. Bringing Chinese seafood industry stakeholders to the Seafood Summit is one good starting point to engage them in our broader, cross-sector conversations.

It was a great day connecting with industry players in the electrifying environment of the show floor. It featured exhibitors from more than 30 countries, including Norway, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Iceland, South Korea, Peru and the UK. Exhibits featured large and small producers and distributors, country-specific promotion councils, logistics companies and equipment sales. Seeing the dizzying array of seafood, its origins and its destinations puts in plain view the challenges and complexities of the seafood trade. Having everyone under on roof also gives us hope, knowing that with the rightmotivation and will, we can get everyone working together toward greater sustainability leading to a diverse and healthy ocean.

-Philip

Talking Traceability and Sustainability at the Forum

Philip Chou moderating “How Sustainable is Chinese Seafood? China's Attitude Towards Seafood Sustainability” at the forum.

Monday concluded a very successful day at the second China Sustainable Seafood Forum, which ran a full day of panels and presentations followed by a dinner that was attended by forum speakers, organizers, sponsors, and local dignitaries, including Consul General of the United States Sean Stein in Shenyang, China.

There was a good turnout of almost 200 attendees. The forum geared toward invited

Chinese producers, processors and exporters and government officials working in fisheries and aquaculture. Several representatives from international nongovernmental organizations were in attendance, including those from WWF's Smart Fishing Initiative, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the Marine Stewardship Council.

Attendees were given postcards, written in Chinese (lower, far right), about SeaWeb's upcoming Seafood Summit to be held January 31 through February 2 in Vancouver, Canada.

Some of the highlights and new themes from the forum that stood out are:

- More and more of China's seafood is going toward the domestic market and seafood imports to China are growing very quickly as Chinese citizenry become bigger global consumers. This was repeated both by SeaFare's Peter Redmayne and the Vice Executive President of China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Association's Mr. Cui He.

- Buyers of Chinese product represented by Canadian retailer Sobey's, European seafood processor Findus, and importer Santa Monica Seafood emphasized the internal processes they go to ensure sustainability and traceability of the products they source. Much of these processes go beyond outside certification, and there are many examples of buyers working hand-in-hand with producers on fisheries and aquaculture improvement projects.

- Fishmeal and fish oil are not a limiting factor to growth of the aquaculture industry, according to Director General of the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Oranisation Jonathan Sheppard. Advances in use of alternative ingredients in feeds as well as better management of forage fish stocks are keeping up with the growing demands for fishmeal and fish oil in the aquaculture industry.

- According to a WWF-hosted panel on whitefish traceability, measures being called for by the European Commission to eliminate IUU fishing and improve food safety is creating advances in China's traceability systems. But most acknowledge it is a tough job for the Chinese industry, in particular for species that go through many channels into a processing plant and may be consolidated along the way.

Some of the lunch crowd in the beautiful venue, including Phil Werdal of Trace Register and David Smith of Sobeys.

The panel I moderated, "How Sustainable is Chinese Seafood? China's Attitude Towards Seafood Sustainability" considered the perspective of those working on the ground in China. Panelists included a major Chinese industry player, a governmental industry association, a nongovernmental organization working on aquaculture improvement projects and a Canadian company raising close containment farmed salmon in China. I think many of the non-Chinese listening may have been surprised at the leadership in environmental sustainability occurring at both the industry and governmental levels in China. I feel there is real pockets of momentum to improve sustainability practices, but the challenge lies in the vast size of the industry and the fiscal challenges for the great number of small and medium-sized enterprises that would need to make significant changes.

Again, it was a wonderful day. Beyond all the learning, many new relationships were formed and strengthened. The collaborative movement among government officials, retailers, Chinese producers and fellow nongovernmental organizations can catalyze and support the seafood movement in China.

Fabulous dinner after the forum! Left to right: Logan Kock of Santa Monica Seafoods, Jessica and Paul of SeaFare and Jonathan Shepherd of International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation.

Arrived in Dalian!

After 20 plus hours of traveling, I'm finally in Dalian, China! On Saturday night I met up with Melanie Siggs as I transferred through Beijing International airport. Today, Sunday, was mostly a free day, but in the afternoon Melanie and I went to the convention center to pick up our badges for the Sustainable Seafood Forum and Seafood Expo, check on our booth location and scout out the venue. We were fortunate to have SeaFare Group's Peter Redmayne (with me, above), who is the lead organizer of the Forum and Expo, to show us around.

In the evening, we had a nice dinner with other presenters and sponsors of the Sustainable Seafood Forum. It was great to have the opportunity to meet each other before the Forum. As we left the restaurant, we saw these two huge shark fins and samples of shark fin menu items. There's definitely a lot to discuss around sustainability issues in China, and like the issues associated with shark finning, much of it is as much about understanding culture and history as it is about economic, social and environmental circumstances. Definitely looking forward to a big day tomorrow at the Forum discussions.