WildCatch...Sustainable Seafood
FEBRUARY 25, 2008 | BY Wildcatch™
Consumer Choice Makes a Difference
Buy seafood that comes from sustainable fisheries.
As a consumer, you have the power to make a difference. Choosing to buy seafood from companies that use ocean friendly sustainable yield methods – or buying seafood from fisheries using closed pen environmentally destructive farming methods – influences what is acceptable in the fishing industry. Your choice rewards and encourages other fisheries to operate with an emphasis on a sustainable future. Wildcatch™ believes this choice is not only healthy for you, but also healthy for your grandchildren.
Sustainable Seafood from Wildcatch™
All of our products come only from sustainable fisheries
Sustainable seafood comes from fishing methods that allow a threatened or depleted fishery to recover back to healthy levels. These methods also protect healthy fisheries from becoming depleted and help maintain the diversity and health of the oceans and rivers so the fish can live and thrive.
Seventy percent of our earth is covered by water filled with thousands of different species of fish and other sea life. Now, more than 60 percent of world fish stocks are fully fished, exploited, depleted, or slowly recovering. With the demand for seafood on the rise it is critical that sustainable fishing practices are followed. We must act now to ensure that our favorite seafood is around for our grandchildren and their children to enjoy.
Sustainable seafood such as Wildcatch™ Seafood comes from a well-managed source. This means that the fishermen follow practices that allow the fish population to thrive rather than be depleted. Hopefully someday all fish will come from sustainable sources.
The Alaskan State Constitution & Sustainability
Safeguarding replenishable resources
'Fish, forests, wildlife, grasslands, and all other replenishable resources belonging to the State shall be utilized, developed, and maintained on the sustained yield principal.' - Alaska State Constitution, Article 8, January 3, 1959.
Clarence Anderson, Alaska's first commissioner of fish and game, a former fisheries biologist from the University of Washington, spelled out a clear policy that set the mold for Alaska's fisheries management. He called his biologists together and laid down the law.
'Gentlemen the Governor has informed me of his support, any needed, to return our salmon runs to their former abundance regardless of the pain inflicted on our people. So I call you here today to charge you with filling our streams with spawning salmon. If your actions result in a substantial over escapement, thus depriving our fishermen of their livelihood, you can expect to be criticized but on a more personal level if you allow an under escapement you can expect to be fired.'
- As told by Clement V. Tillion, former Alaska State Senator.
Working Together Towards Sustainability
Wildcatch™ is committed to working with groups and organizations like Salmon Nation and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to educate the public on how they can make a difference.
Wildcatch™ products display the blue Marine Stewardship Council label indicating that the product comes from a fishery that meets the council's environmental standards for a well-managed and sustainable fishery. MSC Certification # 5CS-MFCP-C-0051.
The Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council(MSC) is an international non-profit organization, funded by non-government grants, foundations, individuals, and corporate sponsorships. The MSC’s globally respected rigorous certification process provides a label to fisheries that meet the strict, independently reviewed standards of sustainability.
The MSC is supported by some of the largest and most influential environmental groups, including the World Wildlife Fund, Consumer Choice Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the National Audubon Society. For more information visit http://www.msc.org/
The future of salmon abundance depends on preserving healthy runs and restoring endangered ones.
Salmon Nation
Salmon Nation has brought together tribes, fishermen, farmers, rancher, loggers, and urban dwellers to work together and improve the environment we share with Pacific salmon. Become a part of the community that is nourishing wild salmon through viable economic solutions. Take the leap to salmon nation and declare your citizenship! For more information visit http://www.salmonnation.com.
Seafood Watch is a program of Monterey Bay Aquarium designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources.
Seafood Watch - Monterey Bay Aquarium
This consumer guide recommends which seafood to buy or avoid, helping consumers to become advocates for environmentally friendly seafood. Seafood Watch is also a partner of the Seafood Choices Alliance where, along with other seafood awareness campaigns, they provide seafood purveyors with recommendations on seafood choices. For more information go to http://www.mbayaq.org.
Every dollar does make a difference. Use your buying power to support products from socially responsible companies.
The Better World Shopping Guide
This is the only comprehensive guide available for socially and environmentally responsible consumers. It contains over fifteen years of comprehensive research distilled into a pocket-sized, shopping-friendly format, ranking every product on the shelf from A to Z-turning your grocery list into a most powerful tool to change the world. Pick up a copy and check out Wildcatch™ on page 138.
