SFP joins Nature Crime Alliance; Cameron's Seafood invests in maker of hemp-derived containers

SeafoodSource is closely following the sustainable seafood movement and is compiling a regular round-up of sector updates pertaining to sustainability initiatives.

- The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has joined the newly formed Nature Crime Alliance, which will focus on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

Officially founded 23 August, the Nature Crime Alliance is a partnership between the World Resources Institute, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, the U.S. State Department, and other government and non-governmental organizations created to "raise political will, mobilize financial commitment, and strengthen operational capacity to fight nature crime."

“Effectively fighting illegal fishing requires coordination and collaboration of key stakeholders,” SFP Global Policy Director Braddock Spear said in a release. “To stop illegal fishing, we need solid and just laws with broad support, and good and fair enforcement. The alliance will bring together necessary stakeholders and resources at a global scale never done before and create a platform to implement our shared vision of stopping illegal fishing.”   

Through its work with the group, SFP aims to bring IUU fishing issues to the attention of government officials, seafood buyers, and to improve fishery management systems on a global scale. 

“We joined the alliance at its inception to scale-up and speed up initiatives to fight illegal fishing and improve fisheries management systems globally,” Spear said. “SFP is poised to bring the seafood industry along on its journey to coordinated action against illegal fishing to a global level.”

- Norway has become the first European country to make fishing vessel tracking data public on the Global Fishing Watch. 

Norway's data officially came online in March 2023, following a memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties in June 2022. Its vessel tracking system covers 600 fishing vessels, operating primarily in Norwegian waters and surrounding Northeast Atlantic Ocean.

“Wild living marine resources are a common good and belong to everyone. When a commercial fishing fleet is licensed to utilize this common asset, we are obliged and committed to share fisheries data documenting the environmental footprint of commercial fishing activity,” Norway Directorate of Fisheries Director General Frank Bakke-Jensen said. 

Countries already implementing public vessel monitoring data include Benin, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Papua New Guinea, among others.

“We hope that others will follow this approach and share more fisheries data,” Bakke-Jensen said.

- Capitol Heights, Maryland, U.S.A.-based Cameron’s Seafood has announced an investment in I-Hemp Katalyst, which manufactures eco-friendly containers made from hemp.

"Our decision to invest in I-Hemp Katalyst was motivated by our commitment to making a positive impact on the environment," Cameron's Seafood Co-Founder Peymon Manesh said in a release. "By partnering with a leader in industrial hemp production, we are proud to contribute to the growth of a sustainable supply chain and promote a cleaner future."

Hemp offers a biodegradable alternative to single-use plastics, the companies said in a joint release.

"We are thrilled to welcome Cameron Seafood as our valued investor in promoting the adoption of industrial hemp," I-Hemp Katalyst CEO Duane Shugars said. "Together, we aim to demonstrate the immense potential of hemp-based materials in reducing our reliance on plastics while also minimizing the negative environmental impacts associated with their usage of to-go containers."

Photo courtesy of Artem Nedoluzhko/Shutterstock