Photos: Pre-competitive collaboration panel at the 4th Latin American Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Summit (L), and Sea Pact board members and advisors gather at Seafood Expo North America (R).
A Busy Start to 2024
Like many other organizations in the seafood world, it has been a busy and exciting start to 2024 for Sea Pact. Here are a few Sea Pact highlights from the past few months:
- 4th Annual Latin American Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Summit: In February, Sea Pact attended the 4th Annual Latin American Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Summit in Mexico City. The Summit brought together stakeholders from all over the world to discuss food security, addressing IUU fishing, responsible aquaculture and fishery improvement efforts, and other sustainable seafood-related topics. Sea Pact joined Comepesca and Seafood Legacy on a panel facilitated by the Walton Family Foundation to discuss pre-competitive efforts to improve seafood sustainability. Major takeaways from the Summit included recognizing that there are many different initiatives driving impactful sustainability outcomes across Latin America, from technology uptake to supply chain collaborations, and prioritization of issues and efforts will be key for any organization or collaboration facing environmental and social responsibility. Also, bottom-up (producer/harvester/fisher) solutions to sustainability challenges, along with market engagement efforts (top down), are vital successful long-term sustainability outcomes. We thank Pesca con Futuro and Comepesca for inviting Sea Pact to participate in the year's Summit.
- Seafood Expo North America: In March, Sea Pact joined thousands of other seafood stakeholders in attending Seafood Expo North America in Boston, Massachusetts. Much of our time was spent away from the Expo floor, meeting with other organizations, learning more about various sustainability initiatives, and exploring opportunities for collaboration. The Expo also enabled Sea Pact board members to meet in-person to kick off our strategic planning process, which will result in Sea Pact member companies establishing long-term sustainability goals and targets. Sea Pact also held its first-ever meet and greet reception during the Expo, sponsored by two Sea Pact Supporters, Pepper and Kvarøy Arctic. The reception was a great way to raise awareness of Sea Pact's efforts and meet with companies interested in Sea Pact membership. A major thank you again to Pepper and Kvarøy for sponsoring the event. We are already looking forward to next year!
- The Consortium for Social Risks in Seafood's Human Rights Due Diligence Workshop: In April, Sea Pact, along with members Acme Smoked Fish, Santa Monica Seafoods, and Seattle Fish, attended a Human Rights Due Diligence Workshop hosted by the Consortium for Social Risks in Seafood in Seattle, Washington. Throughout the workshop, a diverse group of supply chain representatives discussed the realities of human rights due diligence in the seafood sector and the role that the Social Responsibility Assessment (SRA) tool can play in supporting business's due diligence efforts. The SRA is a risk assessment tool designed for the seafood industry focused on fish-workers related to the following; 1) Protect human rights, dignity, and access to resources, 2) Ensure quality and equitable opportunity to benefit, 3) Improve food and livelihood security. The workshop was informative and engaging; and Sea Pact is now exploring potential pilot opportunities utilizing the SRA tool.
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Photo: Stomach teeth (gastric mill ossicles) of a blue crab collected from Virginia
Funded Project Update: Otoliths-Lada Canada
Otoliths-Lada Canada recently completed a Sea Pact-funded project that served as a first step towards age-based stock assessments for two crab species in North America.
Among crustaceans, crab fisheries are considered an important industry in the USA, with crab landings valued $500 million in 2022 according to NOAA. Blue crab landings were valued $220 million, while Jonah crab landings made up to $22 million. Due to the lack of robust age information for crustaceans, stock assessment plans rely entirely on size information to estimate age. The absence of accurate age information in crab species triggered Otoliths-Lada Canada to investigate the potential of using growth bands in the stomach gastric mills of two crab species (blue crab and Jonah crab) as an age indicator. Size is the common indicator of age in most crab species, but size may not be an entirely accurate indicator of age. For example, blue crabs reach a terminal molt where they stop growing at roughly one year of age, but may live for years at that size. If band count is confirmed to be a more accurate determinate of crab age, then stock assessments that inform management of crab species could potentially be improved.
Preliminary results from the study identified growth bands and demonstrated size-at-band count relationships in both blue crab and Jonah crab species. While further research is needed, the results are promising. Check out the Sea Pact website for information on the project or contact Raouf Kilada, CEO of Otoliths-Lada Canada.
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 Photo: Courtesy of Denver Life Magazine
Thank You, Derek Figueroa
By now, the news has broken that Derek Figueroa is retiring from Seattle Fish Company after serving the company for 30+ years. Derek was one of the original founding members of Sea Pact and his commitment to the organization and its mission never wavered. In the early days of Sea Pact, Derek spent countless hours poring over funding proposals, helping recruit new members, while contributing to an organizational design that would drive industry-led sustainability impacts. As Sea Pact matured and other leaders from Seattle Fish served as representatives to Sea Pact, Derek remained focused on the organization, always "lurking" (his word, not ours) on Sea Pact email threads and meetings, often jumping in to provide strategic guidance and ideas.
Sea Pact would not be the organization it is today without Derek's leadership and positive energy, and we thank him for all of his contributions and wish best of luck in whatever his future holds - not that he needs luck! Be sure to check out Seattle's great tribute to Derek here.
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