With a growing number of supermarket chains making commitments to sustainable seafood sourcing, Greenpeace Canada helps consumers to determine how each is measuring up with its annual report: Protecting Our Oceans is Everyone’s Business: Ranking Supermarkets on Seafood Sustainability.
In the recently released 2014 report, Blueyou Consulting’s Selva Shrimp® black tiger prawns were featured under the profile for Overwaitea Food Group (OFG). OFG has made some positive sourcing changes that have been praised.
Namely, OFG received a “Kudos” for having replaced some of its red-ranked tropical shrimp with Selva Shrimp®, which is Ocean Wise approved and ranked a green “Best Choice” by SeaChoice and the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program.
Fraser Rieche from Calkins & Burke stated, “As the group chosen to help assist the launch of the first sustainable farmed black tiger shrimp in North America, Calkins & Burke is encouraged by the ever increasing momentum that we see in foodservice and retail sectors despite the premium that is paid for the Selva shrimp brand. This premium is a straight reflection of the additional costs required to institute and maintain a robust sustainability program. We were pleasantly surprised to see Selva Shrimp mentioned in the recent Greenpeace retail report.”
About Selva Shrimp® and Integrated Mangrove Forest Management
Selva Shrimp® black tiger prawns are sustainably raised in mangrove forests in southern Vietnam, allowing for the farming of shrimp without cutting mangroves. By maintaining a functional ecosystem of mangrove forests and aquatic species, shrimp are raised using the natural productivity of the surrounding forest habitat with no external inputs such as feed, fertilizers and chemicals.
In addition to offering a sustainable seafood choice, the Selva Shrimp® program also creates a direct link between consumers and small-holder farming communities in Southeast Asia that creates economic incentives to support and improve the conditions for small-scale shrimp farmers and the more effective conservation of mangrove forests in coastal habitats.
The Selva Shrimp® initiative ultimately aims at achieving the standards of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). In the interim, a set of transparent criteria is used as guidance for the aquaculture improvement process, which also involves the development of an internal control system (ICS) for farm clusters.
