Seafood Summit 2007

Workshop: Lessons of Agriculture for Aquaculture

The workshop, moderated by Tim O’Shea (CleanFish) will begin with a brief overview of the organic legacy of agriculture by Bill Wolf (Thorvin, Wolf & Associates). Nick Joy (Loch Duart) will present some of the challenging views of aquaculture, followed by a brief panel discussion.

Workshop participants will engage in discussion to review chief learning from initial presentations, as well as participate in an open brainstorming session on the visioning of goals for sustainable aquaculture in 2020. What would need to happen to achieve the 2020 goals? What does this tell the industry about what will make next steps most promising? What steps need to be taken in the next 12 months? 36 months? 60 months?

Workshop: The nuts and bolts of using the MSC logo in an independent business setting and linking up with local MSC-certified fisheries
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Can a small fishery benefit from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification? Big retailers and big fisheries often dominate the headlines about the MSC story, but many smaller operators participate in the program. The ability of small fisheries and independent businesses to make a success of sustainable seafood eco-labeling depends on finding the right market, message and match. This workshop draws on examples that show the wide appeal of MSC certification to smaller fisheries and feature the small UK town of Hastings where an imaginative approach has led to sustainable fishing being identified as a key plank of local economic regeneration.

Workshop led by Rupert Howes (Chief Executive, Marine Stewardship Council) and Kevin Boorman (Marketing and Communications Manager, Hastings Borough Council).

Welcome Reception

Join Seafood Choices Alliance to kick off the Seafood Summit and celebrate sustainable seafood. The reception will highlight leading chefs and suppliers of sustainable seafood with seafood tastings. The Alliance will announce and honor the 2007 Seafood Champion Award recipients during the reception.

Seafood Choices Alliance Welcome Address

Mike Boots, Director, Seafood Choices Alliance

Keynote Speaker – Gifford Pinchot III
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President, Pinchot & Company; President and co-founder, Bainbridge Graduate Institute

Sustainable Seafood Meets the Realities of the International Marketplace

This panel will explore the opportunities and constraints of large seafood buyers relative to sustainable seafood in the international marketplace. Panelists will explore overseas development and emerging conservation issues, especially in China, and the consequences of these developments for the concept of sustainability as the centerpiece of procurement, production, packaging and sales in today’s seafood marketplace. Drawing on the “real world” experiences of companies like Wal-Mart, Compass Group and Beaver Street Fisheries, the panel will explore how the nexus of price, availability, and sustainability present both substantial business opportunities and significant challenges for the health of the world’s oceans.

Moderated by Dr. George Leonard (Science Manager, Seafood Watch program at Monterey Bay Aquarium) with panelists Dr. Anne Kapuscinski (Director of the Institute for Social Economic and Ecological Sustainability, University of Minnesota), Helene York (Director, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation), and Jim O’Brien (General Manager & COO, Beaver Street Fisheries).

Organic Seafood in Practice

This panel will present the current status of the new product segment of organic seafood from three different perspectives: producer, retailer and regulatory/organic certifying agency. Organic seafood is an emerging industry that integrates sustainability and environmental concerns, with traceability and total quality control, and emphasizes the perceived health benefits from the banning of antibiotics, hormones, genetically modified organisms, pesticides and herbicides, and carbon monoxide from production systems. This panel will also include latest updates of the current process in producing the USDA Organic Aquaculture Standards.

Moderated by Hugh Raven (Director, Soil Association in Scotland), with panelists Jorge Gaskins (8TH SEA The Organic Seafood Company), Tony Ruccio (King’s Supermarkets (NJ/NY)), and Joe Smillie (Quality Assurance International (QAI)) and member of the USDA National Organic Standards Board Aquaculture Taskforce).

Fish Watch: Bringing the Status of Stocks to You

NOAA Fisheries collects and analyzes large amounts of data to monitor the sustainability of U.S. fisheries. This data has long been available to interested parties in the form of technical reports, stock assessments, and fishery management plan amendments. NOAA Fisheries will introduce Fish Watch, a new U.S. government website that summarizes the most up-to-date scientific information in an easy to understand format. Presenters Rachel Butzler and Michael Kelly will use selected fisheries as examples to walk the audience through the site. NOAA Fisheries will use this unique setting to determine the needs of its constituents, and will seek feedback to help guide Fish Watch expansion.

The Re-Artisanalization of the Spiny Lobster Fishery in Brazil – Sustainability and Fair Trade

René Schärer and José Augusto Negreiros Aragão will discuss the history of northeastern Brazil´s reef fish and spiny lobster fishery and its transformation from an artisanal activity to an industrial one from 1955 to the 80´s driven by government incentives leading to overfishing of lobsters and its return to a artisanal fishery thirty years later. They will show how artisanal fishing communities are using co-management, MPA´s and the code of conduct for responsible fisheries working with authorities to steer away from disaster, using energy efficient and economically feasible sail catamarans for a multi species fishery, while building partnerships to bring quality seafood products at fair prices to national and international markets.

Creating an Environmental Certification Program for Molluscan Shellfish

While other species of farmed and wild seafood are gaining in the marketplace through the advantages environmental certification confers, molluscan shellfish producers have had no similar program to assure consumers of their sustainability. Shellfish farmers on the U.S. West Coast have initiated a program to fill that void. Connie Smith and Shina Wysocki will describe “The Pacific Coast Shellfish – Certified Sustainable” program, based upon growers’ adoption of a comprehensive Environmental Codes of Practice.

New Policy Tools for Sustainable Fisheries

As global demand for seafood rises, fishery managers face challenges of rebuilding overfished stocks and maintaining healthy stocks. New approaches to management are being tested, while existing policy tools continue to evolve. For example, market-based tools can strengthen incentives to fish in a sustainable manner and provide flexibility for fishing when weather conditions are safest and prices are best. Other policy tools include ecosystem approaches, vessel buyouts, and improvements to data collection processes that provide better scientific information. Fishery managers recognize the increasing importance of international cooperation in a world where fish migrate across boundaries and the global marketplace is rapidly expanding. This panel will discuss some of the latest policy tools and applications, and how they are likely to affect the long-term sustainability of fisheries.

Moderated by Michael Kelly (Chief, Partnerships and Communications Division of the National Marine Fisheries Service) with panelists Samuel Rauch (Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)), Alastair Macfarlane (General Manager for Trade and Information, New Zealand Seafood Industry Council) and Erika Feller (Senior Policy Advisor for NOAA, The Nature Conservancy).

Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) of Farmed and Wild Salmon: Results from new research and industry applications

In February 2007, an international project on the “cradle to grave” impacts of seafood production concludes its first phase, focusing on salmon fisheries and aquaculture systems in Alaska and British Columbia. The Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) captures the environmental, social and economic costs of producing common salmon products—steaks and fillets, smoked portions and sashimi—from the harvest through processing and distribution to final product forms. Originally pioneered in Industrial Ecology, the LCA approach forms a rigorous basis for informing process improvements, labels and standards, consumption decisions and national legislation. Researchers will present results, and discuss their implications with industry representatives.

Moderated by Dr. Astrid J. Scholz (Vice President of Knowledge Systems, Ecotrust) with panelists Dr. Peter Tyedmers (Assistant Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University), Dr. Dave Robb (EWOS Innovation), and Carrie Brownstein (Seafood Quality Standards Coordinator, Whole Foods Market).

Transitions to Sustainability

If you’ve realized responsible, sustainable, products and practices are the answer, then your question has probably changed; how do I make it happen? Whether you’re at the beginning of the process - trying to work out how to make the change happen and energize collective action - or whether you’ve been moving down the path to a more responsible business for sometime, you’ll know that the Business of Sustainability needs dedication, broad thinking and buy in. This panel will help identify some of the key actions, tools and tipping points for changing business behavior.

Moderated by Melanie Siggs (UK Program Director, Seafood Choices Alliance) (presentation courtesy of Martin Gale, UPM-Kymmene Corporation) with panelists Dr. Jean Boulton (Managing Director, Claremont Management Consultants Ltd.) and Jim Cannon (Executive Director, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership).

Linkages Between Sustainable Seafood and Agricultural Efforts

Land-based food production and the seafood supply are not discrete systems. Today’s oceanic dead zones are an eerie absence of life where once diverse and bountiful seafood populations thrived, a direct result of commercial production practices for plant and animal foods How does this happen, how does it affect the marketplace and why is it continuing? Panelists will describe the emerging knowledge of the intersection of agricultural production practices and the health of our oceans and waterways. Forging partnerships between these two communities is a key part of the solution toward a sustainable seafood supply. A chef, a farmer and a fisherman discuss the issue from a “whole plate” perspective, and share progressive examples of working together to promote a healthy eco-system, and preserve and/or improve each and every resulting bite.

Moderated by Bruce Sherman (North Pond) with panelists Dr. Fred Kirschenmann (Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University) and Eric Brazer, Jr. (Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association).

TUESDAY, JANUARY 30

8:30 - 9:15 am

You Are What You Eat: Farmed fish can be contaminant free

Since the 2004 farmed salmon contamination study in Science, questions have been raised about contaminant levels in farmed fish. These questions range from what level is “safe” to regulatory agencies effectiveness in ensuring that seafood is safe to eat. Presenters will explore, instead, how contaminants can be removed from fish meal/fish oil. Fish feed producers admit there is technology to “clean” fish feed of harmful contaminants and it can be done cheaply. Currently no government requires its use, so no feed company can afford to make the change. Don Staniford (Pure Salmon Campaign), Dave Robb (EWOS) and Scott Nichols (DuPont) will present information on contaminant levels in fish feed and farmed fish and share research on available cleaning technologies and their commercial viability.

Indicators of Resource Use Efficiency and Environmental Performance in Aquaculture

The aquaculture industry is under increasing pressure to produce in a more resource efficient and environmentally responsible manner.The application and implementationof better management practices (BMPs) has been a main approach for improving the environmental performance of aquaculture. However, the effects of BMP implementation have rarely been measured. There are few numerical indicators for comparing resource use and waste generation for culture of common species and by different grow-out techniques. Indicators are proposed for evaluating the efficiency with which feed, protein, fishmeal, nutrients, liming materials, water, land, and energy are used in aquaculture. In addition, methods for evaluating amounts of nutrients and other possible pollutants generated by production facilities are suggested. The indicators are designed to reveal the quantities of resources used or of waste discharged per tonne of production. This will simplify comparisons among species and production systems and facilitate comparisons with other kinds of animal agriculture. Presentation by Katherine Bostick of WWF.

Strange Bedfellows: How a non-profit and a for-profit business combine diverse talents and viewpoints to form a multi-faceted partnership

Mary Smith, Director of Marketing for the Plitt Company, and Michelle Jost, Manager of Conservation Programs for The Shedd Aquarium formed a unique partnership in 2004 by bringing together their diverse backgrounds working in radically different spheres. Together they created a series of events designed to meet both their employer’s needs; furthering educational efforts while increasing profits and sales. After 2 years, this partnership has yielded a successful monthly floor program at the Shedd Aquarium, a comprehensive seafood education class designed for culinary arts programs, a promotional DVD highlighting a sustainable and profitable wild Alaskan salmon program and more.

9:15 - 10:45 am

Bringing Small-scale Fisheries and Aquaculture to Market

Small and medium scale fisheries and aquaculture operations are often some of our most sustainable options. Yet their scale makes it difficult to bring their products economically to large and medium sized retailers. If these operations hope to move from a niche market to important retailers they need to adjust their business models to the needs of larger markets. Likewise, retailers need to recognize that if they want truly artisan products, they need to accept that supply is inconsistent, they may have to deal with multiple vendors and that prices reflect the true cost of producing the product.

Moderated by Rich Boot (Director of Operations, Sustainable Fishery Advocates) with panelists Dr. Rod Fujita (Marine Ecologist, Environmental Defense), Carol Devine (Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Development Australis Aquaculture, LLC), and Mike Litchko (General Manager, Pacific Harvest Seafoods).

Sourcing, Marketing and Creating Standards for Environmentally Preferable Farmed Shrimp

Businesses and NGOs working toward more sustainable seafood have long confronted the challenge of farmed shrimp, the biggest seller in the seafood case but one with often-significant environmental issues. This panel will provide an update of efforts between NGOs and corporate purchasers to set standards for and source environmentally preferable farmed shrimp. A supplier working to meet higher environmental standards will discuss the challenges of differentiating their shrimp in the marketplace. The panelists will also discuss farmed shrimp standards that have been developed by industry and some producer countries, as well as the principles developed by a WWF-led consortium.

Moderated by Helene York (Director, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation) with panelists Fritz Jaenike (General Manager, Harlingen Shrimp Farms, Ltd.), George Chamberlain (President, Global Aquaculture Alliance), and Dr. Rebecca Goldburg (Senior Scientist, Environmental Defense).

11:00 - 12:30 pm

Positive Developments in Aquaculture Operations

While there is continued concern that aquaculture operations are operating in a manner that can have negative environmental consequences, many farms are implementing methods to improve their operations. This panel will bring together the aquaculture operations that have made the greatest strides in incorporating an environmental ethic into their farm management. The panelists will share their experiences in this shift in strategy and highlight the benefits and challenges of becoming more environmentally friendly.

Moderated by Dr. Michael Tlusty (Director of Research, New England Aquarium) with panelists Dr. Yonathan Zohar (Director and Professor, Center of Marine Biotechnology at University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute), Dr. Megan Davis (Director, Center for Coastal Research, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution) and Israel Snir (General Manager, AquaFinca, Regal Springs Tilapia Group).

Omega 3’s: Science, Myth and Emerging Issues

A growing body of evidence suggests that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish promote cardiovascular health, neurological development and mental well-being. Recent seafood promotional campaigns have highlighted these benefits, with little or no attention to sustainability and contamination concerns. Given continued positive media coverage of omega-3s, what are the implications of increased consumer demand on a constrained global fish catch? Panelists will address the following: 1) What is really known about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids? 2) What steps has the fish oil supplement industry taken to ensure a sustainable supply and remove contaminants? 3) What is the potential of microalgal alternatives to fish-derived omega-3s for commercial-scale use in aquafeeds?

Moderated by Tim Fitzgerald (Scientist, Environmental Defense Oceans Program) with panelists Eliseo Guallar (Associate Professor of Epidemiology, John Hopkins School of Public Health), Robert Orr (President & CEO, Ocean Nutrition Canada Limited) and Dr. Robert Bullis (Director of Animal Health and Regulatory Affairs, Advanced BioNutrition Corp.).

1:45 - 3:15 pm

Translating CSR Commitments into Fisheries Policy Change

Successful partnerships to encourage governments to improve fisheries require key actions from corporate, supplier and NGO partners. Corporate buyers must provide clear and consistent encouragement to their suppliers, establish incentives and set firm timelines. Suppliers' efforts must include being willing to engage fisheries policy-makers and find ways to work together with competing suppliers and critical NGOs to influence policy. Suppliers with little connection to fisheries need to reach out to their own supply chains to engage the companies that are well placed to engage in fisheries management decision-making. The NGO community needs to balance the roles of external watchdogs and critics with those providing technical support and guidance to suppliers, and recognize and reward positive contributions. Panelists will give their point of view on why CSR commitments towards sustainable seafood should extend to directly encouraging changes in fisheries policy. They will explain why they chose to work in partnership with others to improve fisheries, discuss the steps required, their successes, and the lessons they have learned to date.

Moderated by Jim Cannon (Sustainable Fisheries Partnership) with panelists Bob Langert (McDonald’s), Truls Gulowsen (Greenpeace Norwary), and Mike Mitchell (Young’s Bluecrest Seafood Limited).

Fish Feed: What does the growth of aquaculture mean for the future of wild fish?

One of aquaculture’s promises is to “feed the world”. One of the criticisms leveled at some aquaculture sectors is that they actually result in a net loss of food and put more pressure on wild fish stocks, rather than relieving it. This expert panel will review the current status of reduction fisheries in the world, assess the implications of aquaculture’s projected growth on these fisheries and look more closely at the biological, social and economic issues surrounding the use of fish meal and fish oil from wild fisheries as feed stock for aquaculture. Finally, the panel will explore the concept of “sustainable” reduction fisheries and the potential for these to exist. Come one, come all and prepare to have your economic and biological feed conversion ratios separated and your feed conversion efficiency challenged.

Moderated by Jay Ritchlin (Marine Conservation Specialist, David Suzuki Foundation) with panelists Nathan Pelletier (Dalhousie University), Trygve Berg Lea (International Product Manager, Skretting), and Scott Wallace (David Suzuki Foundation).

3:30 - 4:30 pm

Food Trends '07: What's Hot and What's Not in Seafood

Bon Appetit Magazine Senior Food Editor Sarah Tenaglia, seafood economist Howard Johnson, and Seafood Choices' Stephanie Faison report on food trends for the coming year, looking at what's in and out in cooking, especially when it comes to seafood and sustainability. They will discuss food from the perspective of ingredients, techniques and cuisines and highlight how shifts in consumer demographics, tastes and preferences are changing the marketplace for seafood.

4:30 – 5:00 pm

Conference Wrap-Up: The Business of Sustainability

Mike Boots, Director, Seafood Choices Alliance

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31

Morning Tours: Beaver Street Fisheries Facilities

The tour will begin with an introduction to Beaver Street, a History and Tradition of the Frisch Family Fisheries in Jacksonville. The introduction will be followed by a walking tour of the plant (wear flat comfortable shoes, no open toes or sandals). The tour itself is approximately 1 mile in length and 1 hour to 1 hour and 1/2 depending on the Q&A enroute. The group will begin the tour in the main lobby and then proceed to the sales and marketing area. We will move on to the seafood packing and production plant to see the retail pack out of different seafood products as well as production of crab cakes and deviled crabs. Then a brisk walk over to shipping and receiving to work up an appetite, as we move along through the warehouse and the cold dock load out area. Afterwards, we will proceed to the third floor and the test kitchen where we will sample some seafood prepared in our test kitchens, but for those whose stomachs still think it is breakfast, there will be coffee and pastries and traditional bagels with lox, onions, and capers.