Sustainable Seafood Program ... anyone know what this means exactly ...

[Linda&Vern]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/holland-america-line-celebrates-earth-day-with-roll-out-of-sustainable-seafood-program-2011-04-21-151100 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/holland-america-line-celebrates-earth-day-with-roll-out-of-sustainable-seafood-program-2011-04-21-151100)

[Krazy Kruizers]

I wondered about that as well when I saw it posted for Earth day -- i have a feeling it was just something special offered for that day in the way of what types of seafood were prepared

[sail7seas]

I heard the other day of Sustainable Agriculture and don't understand what that is.

[CruiserBruce]

I posted the original link a couple of weeks ago.

Sustainable means not fishing areas to exhaustion of the supply, or even to the point of noticable depletion. This has happened to a number of fish species you are probably familar with- salmon in some areas, swordfish, sea bass.

Fish farming is one solution. Farm raised fish is very common today- look for signage indicating "Farm raised" as opposed to "Wild Caught". Farm fishing caused some environmental damage early on by over populating areas of the sea, but it seems that has been addressed.

[Linda&Vern]

This was the part I didn't understand:

Holland America Line will begin the sustainability program with its 2011 Alaska and Europe cruises -- and the company plans to extend the program worldwide across the 15-ship fleet over the next year. Menus will be reviewed prior to contracting cycles to ensure that all procured seafood meets the program criteria. New seafood options are evaluated and best-choice alternatives are used whenever possible. The line has provided sustainable seafood specifications to all of its seafood suppliers and modified its procurement process to achieve its goal of all seafood items being responsibly sourced.

[canadarocks]

(From Wikipedia)

Sustainable seafood:

Sustainable seafood is seafood from either fished or farmed sources that can maintain or increase production in the future without jeopardizing the ecosystems from which it was acquired. The sustainable seafood movement has gained momentum as more people become aware about both overfishing and environmentally-destructive fishing methods.

How seafood is deemed sustainable:

In general, slow-growing fish that reproduce late in life, such as orange roughy, are quite vulnerable to overfishing. Seafood species that grow quickly and breed young, such as anchovies and sardines, are much more resistant to overfishing.

[sail7seas]

Just my opinion, but I'm glad HAL is going SOMETHING about the fish they serve on the ships.

It is my experience on our last several cruises on three different ships that HAL's fish is not of the quality and care in preparation I always used to enjoy. It is has been a consistent dissatisfaction I've encountered on the ships we've sailed in the last year and a half or so.

It needs improvement.

[CruiserBruce]

This was the part I didn't understand:

Holland America Line will begin the sustainability program with its 2011 Alaska and Europe cruises -- and the company plans to extend the program worldwide across the 15-ship fleet over the next year. Menus will be reviewed prior to contracting cycles to ensure that all procured seafood meets the program criteria. New seafood options are evaluated and best-choice alternatives are used whenever possible. The line has provided sustainable seafood specifications to all of its seafood suppliers and modified its procurement process to achieve its goal of all seafood items being responsibly sourced.

This means HAL will buy fish in an environmentally smart manner that doesn't create a demand for fish that are endangered.

[goodearth]

Posted twice....Oops!

[goodearth]

The first issue is the depletion by overfishing in the oceans around the world--as mentioned earlier. The Monterey Bay Seafood Watch (through the Aquarium) puts out a fish list that talks about the status of the various fish caught in the ocean. Some should be off limits because they are so depleted. It is a handy reference tool and available at their website....sorry I cannot post the link on this computer but google "Monterey Bay Seafood Watch" and you'll see it.
Second--farmed fish are not considered sustainable because most of them are not native fish and they are not fed wild diets. Case in point--farmed Atlantic Salmon on the West Coast. They provide concentrated waste products because they are caged and they can and do escape and 'invade' local threatened species of salmon. Also on the horizon was a genetically modified fish (nicknamed Frankenfish) specifically made to grow bigger faster...............google that one too! Hopefully HAL's idea of sustainability is not to use farmed fish which I recently was told are being labeled "sustainably harvested" or some other camouflage to cover the word farm raised. This is a big deal in the Pacific Northwest-- the feeling is that eating wild is better but eating responsibly is necessary. Hope I didn't confuse people--- We'll continue to use our seafood watch list as the key to our choices---it is up to date and helpful!:)

[chinita415]

Here is the Monterey Aqaurium link:http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx?c=ln

I picked up a wallet card the last time I was there. Looks like there is an app now!

[CruiserBruce]

There is an app! I was just there a couple of weeks ago and saw the info.

[oceanswimmer]

We just returned from a cruise on Holland America and I had noticed on their menu that they said that they were now using sustainable fish. I was very impressed and pleased that HAL is doing this -- overfishing is an extremely serious issue and it is really wonderful that a company the size of HAL recognizes this and is doing the right thing.

We were talking to our guide in Sicily and he mentioned that in the past few summers the Mediterranean has been filled with jellyfish --- one of the theories for the jellyfish invasions is that the major predators of jellyfish are swordfish, tuna and turtles --- all of which are in serious decline.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We just returned from a cruise on Holland America and I had noticed on their menu that they said that they were now using sustainable fish. I was very impressed and pleased that HAL is doing this -- overfishing is an extremely serious issue and it is really wonderful that a company the size of HAL recognizes this and is doing the right thing.

We were talking to our guide in Sicily and he mentioned that in the past few summers the Mediterranean has been filled with jellyfish --- one of the theories for the jellyfish invasions is that the major predators of jellyfish are swordfish, tuna and turtles --- all of which are in serious decline.

Thanks for this information

[GetOnABoat]

Here's another link to an explanation via a program we have in restaurants here in Vancouver: http://www.oceanwise.ca/about/sustainable-seafood

It's like being responsible with endangered species, except with food fish that are in jeopardy of not being able to breed enough to sustain our consumption of them. Instead of continuing to eat fish that are in danger, we eat more plentiful species, or make sure we buy those fish from companies that fish responsibly, not taking everything from the sea, leaving enough to spawn the next generation.

[Hawaiidan]

Already most of the shrimp and salmon you eat are farmed, Too Sturgeon , Tapita, and Catfish are seeing a lot of farming as well

Good to see major players starting to recognize that maybe serving all that lobster has a down side....

[goodearth]

Already most of the shrimp and salmon you eat are farmed, Too Sturgeon , Tapita, and Catfish are seeing a lot of farming as well

Good to see major players starting to recognize that maybe serving all that lobster has a down side....



The big difference with Tilapia and Catfish are that they are usually farmed in freshwater ponds that are not connected to native ecosystems including river's, lakes, etc. which in turn provides a layer of environmental protection to other freshwater species-and makes them a good choice for consumption. This isn't true with salmon farming which is in the ocean. Most of the shrimp farming is in the eastern pacific (Indonesia - Thailand) and there are horror stories about that too, think about no sewer systems and the 'shrimp' farms. :eek: The bigger issue is that there is still wild food that is edible and responsibly harvested in some parts of the world....In Sitka there is a consortium of independent fishermen that have run a sustainable seafood co-op for years. This is a good step by HAL in the right direction, it's also important for people to understand what impacts their food choices have. For those that are interested in another view of the bigger issue of food in America---check out the movie "Food, Inc." It's an eye opener regarding all the issues of corporate farming--not just in the ocean.....each person has a choice as to what they eat, so please take this as sharing information that some may be interested in...........others, maybe not. :)