Walmart US joins Ocean Disclosure Project

Published 09/11/2017

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is pleased to announce US-based retailer Walmart has joined the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP), and agreed to make some information about its seafood sourcing available through a public profile on the project’s website, including  data such as locations where wild seafood is caught, gear types, fisheries management information, environmental impacts, certifications and fishery improvement projects.

”We are proud of our efforts to make the seafood we sell more sustainable and joining the Ocean Disclosure Project is one more way we can show our passion and commitment for sustainability and transparency,” said Laura Phillips, Senior Vice President of Sustainability for Walmart. “ODP provides an important service to consumers and other stakeholders when understanding where their seafood comes from.”

SFP started The Ocean Disclosure Project in 2015 to provide a valuable information resource for responsible investors, seafood consumers and others interested in sustainable seafood.. To date, nine other companies have participated — ranging from retailers to suppliers and aquaculture feed manufacturers in both the US and UK.

Blake Lee-Harwood, Strategy Director with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, said:

“It is fantastic news that the largest retailer in the world has now joined the Ocean Disclosure Project. Walmart has made a huge contribution to making seafood more sustainable and is now showing real leadership in adopting a more transparent approach to the sustainability aspects of the fish and shellfish the company sells. We hope this move will encourage other retailers and processors to join the ODP and tell their customers about the sustainability of their seafood.”

Other ODP participants include UK retailers Asda, Co-op Food and Morrisons along with UK seafood supplier Joseph Robertson and French food service company Davigel. Participants also include aquaculture feed manufacturers Biomar, Cargill/EWOS, and Skretting as well as US retailer Publix Supermarkets.

Earlier this year, SFP announced the ODP was moving to its own website. The new site is operated by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership but it is intended that the website will become independent by the end of 2020. The project has been generously funded by the John Ellerman Foundation.

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North Atlantic, Inc. Joins Ocean Disclosure Project

Published 25/10/2017

NAI becomes first U.S. supplier to join global platform for seafood industry transparency

Seafood supplier North Atlantic, Inc. (NAI) has officially joined the Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP), a platform created by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) to increase transparency in the seafood industry by encouraging companies to publicize their seafood sourcing information. NAI is the first U.S. supplier to join the initiative and the first business to become involved outside of SFP’s direct US industry partners.

Launched in 2015, the ODP started with the support and participation of three retail and two aquafeed production companies. Since then, the ODP has expanded to include nine businesses in total, rounded out most recently by Publix as the first U.S. retailer.

NAI will use the ODP platform to share its key sourcing information, including species, catch regions, harvest methods, fishery improvement projects (FIPs), and environmental performance.

“North Atlantic is fully committed to improving the transparency and sustainability of our operations,” said Bill Stride, CEO of NAI. “The Ocean Disclosure Project offers a simple yet powerful forum for demonstrating to customers, consumers, and other stakeholders that such transparency is industry best practice. We’re proud to engage in the ODP and strongly encourage our seafood industry peers to embrace this initiative as well.”

NAI’s participation in ODP adds yet another layer to the company’s increased focus on transparency, the cornerstone of which is an on-the-ground initiative aiming to implement traceability systems on all vessels within NAI subsidiary Bali Seafood International’s operations in Indonesia. Transparency also remains a key theme of NAI’s partnership with the nonprofit sustainable seafood consultancy, FishWise.

“We are thrilled to see North Atlantic join this leading group of companies as the first U.S. supplier,” said Erin Taylor, Project Manager at FishWise. “We see NAI’s participation and the ODP overall as raising the bar for greater accountability throughout the entire supply chain, even beyond the consumer-facing level.”

Blake Lee-Harwood, Strategy Director with SFP, said: “We welcome North Atlantic to the ODP and congratulate them on demonstrating real industry leadership. We hope that many other suppliers in the US will follow this lead and participate in the ODP and that this level of transparency becomes standard practice across the seafood supply chain.”

The ODP transitioned to its own interactive website operated by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership in September and includes information on participating companies in the U.S., Norway, Denmark, UK, and France.

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Ocean Disclosure Project launches as new website

Published 05/09/2017

Ocean Disclosure Project launches as new website – 9 leading companies now demonstrating complete transparency around sustainable seafood sourcing

The Ocean Disclosure Project – the leading corporate transparency platform for sustainable wild seafood – was launched today as an interactive website that presents seafood sourcing data from 9 companies, including US and UK retailers, suppliers and aquaculture feed manufacturers. The data includes locations where wild seafood is caught, gear types, fisheries management information, environmental impacts, certifications and fishery improvement projects. The ODP allows companies to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable fish and shellfish sourcing through complete transparency around the condition of their seafood sources and improvement efforts.

New ODP participants in 2017 include aquaculture feed manufacturer Cargill/EWOS and French food service company Davigel.

Other ODP participants include UK retailers Asda, Co-op Food and Morrisons along with UK seafood supplier Joseph Robertson, aquaculture feed manufacturers Biomar and Skretting as well as US retailer Publix Supermarkets. The new website is operated by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership but it is intended that the website will become independent by the end of 2020. The project has been generously funded by the John Ellerman Foundation.

The Ocean Disclosure Project is intended to provide a valuable information resource for responsible investors, seafood consumers and others interested in sustainable seafood and corporate responsibility. The new website has been welcomed by NGOs such as Greenpeace and other retailers, such as Marks & Spencer, that provide similar levels of transparency.

The new ODP website can be accessed at the following link:
http://www.oceandisclosureproject.org/

The Marks & Spencer report can be accessed at:

https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/plan-a/our-approach/food-and-household/product-standards/raw-materials-commodities-and-ingredients/fish-and-shellfish

Commenting on the launch of the website, Jim Cannon, CEO of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, said:
“The companies that have participated in the Ocean Disclosure Project should be highly commended for demonstrating real leadership in corporate reporting. The seafood sector as a whole has poor transparency and this kind of comprehensive reporting shows a very high level of responsibility by these companies along with a real confidence in their business model."

Will McCallum, Head of Oceans, Greenpeace UK, commented:
“Transparency is the first step towards ensuring sustainable sourcing and ethical supply chains. With the launch of its new website, the Ocean Disclosure Project is making it ever easier for companies and their customers to be confident that the fish they’re buying is sustainable. It’s a great resource and we’d encourage companies to use it and to critically engage with improving their sustainability.”

Chris Brown, Senior Director of Sustainable Business with Asda, said:
“Asda is committed to the sustainable sourcing of seafood. We see the Ocean Disclosure Project as an important mechanism for stakeholders to judge our progress. We believe in transparency in how we source our fish and shellfish to enable consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.”

Hannah Macintyre from Marks & Spencer said:
"We already publish this information on our website and therefore share the aims of this initiative in bringing complete transparency to sustainable seafood sourcing. Together, major retailers and brands can make a difference and help transform the whole industry.”

Jim Cannon, CEO at Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, added:
“The companies that have reported this year have shown that there are no issues with commercial confidentiality in such disclosure and sharing the information only improves trust and confidence in the seafood industry. We sincerely hope that other companies will take note of this important project and report their own seafood procurement in a similar manner. Today’s consumers are eager and interested to learn more about the origins of their food and efforts like the ODP or Marks & Spencer are a great way to provide this information for seafood products.”

Contact: Blake Lee-Harwood, SFP Strategy Director

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