Food Safety & Sustainability
SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES PARTNERSHIP
HILO Fish Co., Philly Seafood Inc.
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a young and dynamic, business-focused NGO that is reshaping the world of corporate responsibility through the creation of powerful information tools and a methodology that allows companies to directly engage with suppliers of natural resources. It does not campaign or provide eco-labels, but works to reduce the barriers to action by industry in creating a more sustainable world. SFP operates through two main principles: information and improvement.connect data from your collection.
GULF SEAFOOD TRACE
Philly Seafood Inc.
Gulf Seafood Trace aims to drive demand for U.S. Gulf seafood products from both seafood buyers and consumers by telling its unique story and sharing key information from vessel to plate or shelf. Incorporating a data quality and confirmation component confirms the validity and integrity of the information being shared by businesses.
Gulf Seafood Trace will ensure confidence in the market and help build a market leading brand for Gulf seafood products by communicating the unique and special qualities of Gulf seafood so that the shopper or diner will ask for it by name. Telling the story will help to separate Gulf seafood from its competition and help to establish it as a premium, all-American brand in the marketplace.
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND
HILO Fish Co., AFFCO Trading Inc.
WWF supports sustainable fishing and good governance in geographic places such as the Arctic, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, the Southern Cone and on the high seas. WWF focus the efforts on reducing the impact of fishing that is making a considerable footprint on the world’s most ecologically important marine ecoregions and conserving the most commercially valuable species such as tuna and whitefish.
ECMU& Associate is pleased to present is certification. The objective of the WWF Certification is to get the right fisheries management in place and promote technological advances such as the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to increase transparency of fishing operations at sea. Create sustainable market incentives – spurring fishers, processors, buyers and retailers to commit to certified fisheries, and to purchase and sell seafood products that can be traced back to their origin.
Make sure money is well-invested to safeguard livelihoods and secure long-term fisheries recovery.
SOUTHERN SHRIMP ALLIANCE
Philly Seafood Inc.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) is an organization of shrimp fishermen, shrimp processors, and other members of the domestic industry in the eight warmwater shrimp producing states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Founded in 2002, the SSA works to ensure the continued vitality and existence of the U.S. shrimp industry. The livelihoods of U.S. shrimpers are threatened by cheap, unfairly traded imported shrimp. The U.S market has become a dumping ground for shrimp that are turned away from other major seafood importing countries. Proposed restrictions on shrimp fishing and rapidly increasing costs of doing business also loom over the industry. The SSA is committed to preserving the long term viability of one of our nation’s most valuable fisheries, which for decades has been a foundation of the economy and social structure of countless coastal communities throughout the Gulf and Southeast regions.
SUPPORTING THE FUTURES OF INDONESIAN FISHERIES
HILO Fish Co.
CMU & Associate is pleased to announce that its Indonesian suppliers received the SFIF Certification. This certification marks the collaboration and best practices development for active and passive vessel tracking and traceability. The goal of this collaboration is to determine the most efficient and cost-effective traceability solution for broader fleet applications for artisanal and large boat fleets.
NATIONAL FISHERIES INSTITUTE
CRAB COUNCIL
Heron Point Seafood, Inc.
The NFI Crab Council is a group focused on crab sustainability. As an association of U.S. seafood companies, the Crab Council recognizes the importance of maintaining successful crab fisheries for international businesses as well as local economies. ​
Since 2009, the Crab Council has practiced industry led stewardship, influencing crab management through funding fisheries improvement projects and market leadership. Throughout five countries in Asia, we sponsor sustainability projects to preserve crab as a popular, plentiful seafood item as well as an important economic resource for dependent livelihoods. In collaboration with in-country partners and key stakeholders, the Crab Council develops practical sustainability measures that address fishery needs through scientific, social and financial channels.
BEST ACQUACULTURE PRACTICES
HILO Fish Co.
BAP is the world’s most trusted, comprehensive and proven third-party aquaculture certification program. We’ve been improving the environmental, social and economic performance of the aquaculture supply chain and growing the global supply of responsibly farmed seafood since 2002.
BAP Certification Benefits:
Third-party certification, ensuring that your audit is fair, objective and traceable.
The only aquaculture certification that encompasses the entire production chain: farms, processing plants, hatcheries and feed mills.
The standards cover virtually 100% of the finfish, crustacean and mollusk species produced around the globe.
The standards are scientific, rigorous and always evolving to meet challenges in aquaculture.
MARINE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
Atlantic Capes Fisheries, HILO Fish Co., Prestige Oyster's Inc.Â
The Marine Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization that recognizes and rewards efforts to protect oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for the future. MSC works for future generations to be able to enjoy seafood and oceans full of life, forever. Its vision is of the world’s oceans teeming with life, and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations. Its mission is to use our ecolabel and fishery certification programs to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans by recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood and working with its partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis.
TEDS AND BRDS
Mexican Shrimp Paradise
Our fleets are in compliance with U.S. TED Laws.
A turtle excluder device or TED is a specialized device that allows a captured sea turtle to escape when caught in a fisherman's net. Sea turtles can be caught when bottom trawling is used by the commercial shrimp fishing industry. In order to catch shrimp, a fine meshed trawl net is needed. Bycatch Reduction Device or BRD, in the fishery business, is a tool designed to minimize unintended capture (or bycatch) of marine animals, thus reducing the adverse effects of fishing on the ecosystem.
 CLEAN FLEET CERTIFICATION
“Flota Limpia”
It’s our clean fleet certification composed by government agencies and shrimp producers committed to the environment and sustainability. This group is in charge of auditing the environmental and fishing norms. The followings are current actions that Flota Limpia Certification stands for.
Removal of sunken shrimp boats from docks.
Waste management.
Training courses on environmental regulations to all crew members.
Maintenance of fishing docks.
Recycling of boats waste.
FAIRTRADE
HILO Fish Co., Atlanta Capes Fisheries
Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.
With Fairtrade you have the power to change the world every day. With simple shopping choices you can get farmers a better deal. And that means they can make their own decisions, control their future and lead the dignified life everyone deserves.
GO TEXAN and TEXAS SEA GRANT
Philly Seafood Inc.
Go Texan Promotes the Products, culture and communities that call texas home.
Texas Sea Grant is a unique partnership that unites the resources of the federal government, the State of Texas and universities across the state to create knowledge, tools, products and services that benefit the economy, the environment and the citizens of Texas.
SGS
AFFCO Trading Inc.
Organizations around the world rely on social responsibility and good practices to protect and enhance business relationships and reputations. Through SGS, organizations are held accountable when issues are found in their trading partners’ practices or supply chains. Social Responsibility Audit solutions from SGS demonstrate that your organization is serious about ethical behavior and social responsibility.
BRC GLOBAL STANDARDS
Prestige Oyster's Inc., Atlantic Capes Fisheries, HILO Fish Co., AFFCO Trading Inc., Heron Point Seafood, Inc.
The BRC Food Issue 7 Certification is internationally recognized as the market leaders set the benchmark for Good Manufacturing Practices in food, packaging, storage and distribution, agents and brokers, and consumer products.
HACCP CERTIFIED
Prestige Oyster's Inc., Mexican Shrimp Paradise, Atlantic Capes Fisheries, HILO Fish Co., AFFCO Trading Inc., Philly Seafood Inc., Heron Point Seafood, Inc., Ruggiero Seafood Inc.
HACCP auditors must understand the federal regulations that govern production of food and drugs. Certification ensures that a person is aware of such procedures and is well-versed in inspection of proper protocols to ensure safety.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
SEAFOOD INSPECTION PROGRAM
Atlantic Capes Fisheries
The U.S. Department of Commerce (USDC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offers a voluntary inspection service to seafood producers and processors. The Voluntary Seafood Inspection Program offers a variety of professional inspection services that assure compliance with all applicable food regulations. Products inspected and certified under the USDC Seafood Inspection Program that meet all of the requirements and criteria specified have the U.S. Grade A seal of approval. The U.S. Grade A mark signifies that a product meets the highest level of quality established in the applicable U.S. grade standard and has been processed under the USDC Voluntary Seafood Inspection Program in a sanitarily approved facility.
NSF INTERNATIONAL
Atlantic Capes Fisheries, AFFCO Trading Inc.
Founded in 1944, our mission is to protect and improve global human health. Manufacturers, regulators and consumers look to us to facilitate the development of public health standards and certifications that help protect food, water, consumer products and the environment. As an independent, accredited organization, we test, audit and certify products and systems as well as provide education and risk management.