Our Sponsors
Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods is a fully owned subsidiary of the Thai Union Group. It operates seafood brands including Chicken of the Sea, Xcellent, Asian Gold, Orion, and VanCamps, sold at retailers, clubs, wholesalers, broadline foodservice operators, and national restaurant chains.
Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., sources responsibly and enforces a strict code of conduct with suppliers throughout the world. Established in 2006 in partnership with Thai Union, the newly formed company went from zero to more than a billion dollars in sales within 15 years. COSFF is the #1 importer of shrimp in North America and is also a market leader in several other seafood product categories.
TARGET 75
This fishery improvement project supports Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s Target 75 initiative, as it aims to improve the sustainability of snow crab fisheries by reducing the impact of the fishing gear on other marine wildlife.
SFP partners include major retailers and food service providers that have commitments to advancing the sustainability of seafood by working with suppliers who are proactively seeking solutions to environmental challenges in fisheries. SFP works with these supply chains to help facilitate and catalyze industry-led fishery improvement projects (FIPs) when those challenges are identified.
There are already many efforts being undertaken by fishers, fishery managers, and other stakeholders in Atlantic Canada to test different fishing gear, area closures, earlier openings and other measures to reduce interactions with critically endangered north Atlantic right whales. Over the past year, SFP has worked with proactive industry stakeholders in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence region to adapt their specific pilot projects and efforts into a publicly recognized FIP.
For the snow crab fishery in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to be sustainable in the long term, practical solutions must be developed that work for both the fishers and the whales. Rope-less gear, combined with other measures, shows promise as a solution but must be piloted and adapted for the vessels, the conditions, and to develop management strategies to support its use.
SFP applauds this FIP as an example of fishers working hard to make a real difference, embracing new approaches, and actively participating in the development of solutions.
This FIP will serve as a model for other pot and trap fisheries that overlap with whale habitat.
“My support is based on a 35-year long career studying North Atlantic right whales in Canadian and US waters. I fully support the three activates proposed to further experiment with and trial the use of ropeless fishing and other alternative fishing methods in 2021.
The ropeless fishing experiment in 2020 was a success, snow crab fishermen are engaged and more participants are identified and willing to participate.
The work proposed is of the very nature that will lead to Canada finding a solution to the right whale entanglement problem, advance our fisheries to the achieve the goal of safer fishing for whales and benefit the fishing industry while providing a sustainable environment for whales and fishing to co-exist. I fully support the activities described in the proposal.”
Moira Brown PhD
The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium is a groundbreaking initiative designed to expand the Aquarium’s cutting-edge applied marine research and data-driven conservation solutions.
They have been actively involved in our FIP through research and on our scientific advisory committee.
Example of Project conducted with their support: Identify drag forces produced by a commercial sized snow crab trap. The data from these trials will be used for the Virtual Whale Entanglement Simulator (VWES).
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Your support and contributions will help us achieve our goals and improve fishing methods to protect NARW.
Your generosity and your donation will allow us to finance our mission.
