As an industry, fish and other seafood compares relatively well to other proteins when it comes to its emissions, but there is a recognition that there will always be room for improvement in this area right the way across the supply chain.
British Standards Institute is therefore facilitating an international effort, which includes representatives drawn from Norway, Chile, Thailand, the UK and other areas, to establish a common approach for the industry in order that it can assess its current position and take affirmative action in reducing emissions globally.
Work in this area so far has included pulling together and sharing the current knowledge on emissions from fisheries across the world; gaining a common understanding on the seafood industry from local to international sourcing; getting agreement on how greenhouse gasses should be assessed; and to inform and enable mitigating actions and benchmark standards.
For industry the important areas of future focus across the supply chain are:
- Fuel consumption needed for fish capture
- Feed production for Aquaculture
- Transportation of product to reach its markets
- Refrigeration of product throughout the cycle
Angus Garrett from the Seafish Industry Authority, who is involved in the BSI initiative said: This work can help the industry as a whole to understand the priority areas and have a clear line of site as to where improvements could and should be made in the seafood supply chain. However, not only will this work give local and international industry chains a focus but it will also help establish a world-wide position for the industry as a whole where we can all work together to plug the gaps and reduce emissions through a common framework. This is of huge importance to the environment and in tackling climate change.
An open session will be held at 09:30 on Thursday 10 May at the World Fisheries Congress and interested parties are encouraged to attend the debate. Those interested should contact Brian Such at BSI (Brian.Such@bsigroup.com).
The workshop will contribute to the production of a draft consultation document which will be placed on the BSI website from June 1st http://www.bsigroup.com/ and will be open for four weeks. Once the consultation is complete a further revision will be made before a final document is released in September 2012 which will outline the agreed approach to reducing emissions for the industry.
Project Manager Brian Such said: Our work will produce a voluntary code for the seafood industry to use worldwide. This is a significant step forward and we have been helped along the road by many interested parties. As we approach the production of our consultation document therefore we encourage people to get involved and give us their views. We believe that the more collaborative our approach the more sufficiently rounded and credible our proposals will become thereby ensuring their usefulness to the seafood industry across the globe.
