Walmart releases new sustainability guideline
The major news from the Boston Seafood Show, according to John Sactkon, Seafoodnews.com, is Walmart's statement on new sustainability guideline. The changes in Walmart' statement was to adopt a policy of accepting equivalent certifications that met in full the FAO standard for responsible fisheries. "By taking this step, Walmart has gone a long way to start the process of rationalizing the third party certification of sustainability for fisheries and aquaculture by laying the groundwork for a single playing field, upon which all the various certification programs, including those developed and supported by governments, can equally compete."
This is important recognition of the Iceland Responsible Fisheries Scheme which is a FAO-ISO based certification."It means that Alaska's and Iceland's initiatives to meet FAO requirements will become mainstream, and that organizations like the MSC will provide value to fisheries in the development of certification and administration of standards and label programs, but they will not be the only recognized source of such expertise and validation." It was announced during the Show that Alaska's Salmon Fisheries got certified.
Read the news and the statement (Sustainable Seafood Policy) on the following links: