« January 2008 Table of Contents 
Editor's Note: 2008: The year of sustainable farmed fish
By Fiona Robinson, Editor in Chief
January 01, 2008
SeaFood Business wrote its first big feature on
sustainability in October 2004. "Eco-buying ups the ante"
chronicled the early stages of seafood buyers' sustainability
programs. Nearly four years later, sustainability has gone from
the boardroom to the processing floor of major seafood
producers.
This issue's Top Story, "Farm focus," written by
Contributing Editor Lisa Duchene (who also wrote our 2004
feature), describes the challenges buyers now face: sourcing
farmed fish that is certified sustainable.
This next step is critical. With aquaculture representing 43
percent of global seafood production in 2006, certification of
farmed fish is crucial to the industry's future. And it seems
that some sort of farmed certification is forthcoming. Check
out the Top Story on p. 22 for an update on the topic that's
driving the future of the nation's seafood purchases.
This is not the only feature covering sustainability - you
can find mention of it in a variety of places in this issue.
Two Newsline stories on p. 12 - "Friend of the Sea OKs farmed
turbot" and "MSC awards first shrimp fishery" - document
progress on certification of sustainable species. Lauren
Kramer's Trend Watch on p. 34 illustrates how restaurants are
adopting eco-friendly measures recommended by the Green
Restaurant Association. "Sustainability 101" in Joan Lang's In
the Kitchen feature on p. 38 tells how UMass Amherst is
successfully following the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood
Watch list for its seafood purchases. No matter what business
you're in, sustainability is at the forefront.
Several readers will be packing this issue into their
briefcase as they head off to the European debut
of the
Seafood Choices Alliance's annual Seafood Summit. This year's
venue in Barcelona, Spain, will host a number of new panel
topics, including communicating sustainability to consumers;
closing ports to illegal, unregulated and unreported fish
catches; and the impact of the global sustainability movement
on developing countries. These and other topics are sure to
inspire fruitful discussions on the future of sustainable
seafood stocks worldwide.
Safe travels, and Happy New Year to all.