Libby Woodhatch, Head of Advocacy at Seafish, will be one of the invited panellists on the Preventing Human Rights Abuses in the Seafood Supply Chain, which is one of the key issues to be discussed at this year’s Summit.
Seafish has recently revised the Responsible Fishing Scheme to include Safety, Health and Welfare as one of the core principles, expanding on the previous Health and Safety core principle, to help the seafood supply chain meet social responsibility requirements. For the first time, RFS will be put forward to attain ISO 17065 accreditation status, making it a globally recognised standard.
As well as taking part in the panel, Seafish will host a reception for delegates at the Summit to showcase RFS and its new responsible sourcing tool Risk Assessment for Sourcing Seafood (RASS). The free online platform of RASS will give the entire UK supply chain of seafood buyers - in the wholesale, foodservice and retail sectors - greater clarity over the environmental performance of wild-caught seafood.
The organisation is also up for a Seafood Champion Innovation Award for Project Inshore, a project with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) which has utilised the MSC scoring assessment to assess over 450 inshore fisheries in England and providethem with sustainability plans to support sustainable management.
Tom Pickerell, Technical Director at Seafish, said: ''The seafood supply chain is a global market and requires Governments, NGOs and all organisations involved in the seafood industry to work together to ensure we can make positive changes in sustainability and responsible fishing.
“Seafish has worked closely with the seafood industry in the UK to develop RFS and RASS and we are delighted to be attending this year’s Seafood Summit to talk about this work. In particular, we are immensely proud of RFS and can’t wait to share this unique programme with the rest of the world.”
The Preventing Human Rights Abuses in the Seafood Supply Chain presentation will take place as part of the Seafood Summit at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans on Tuesday 10 February at 9.30am (UTC).
The Seafish Reception will take place at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans on 10 February at 5.30pm (UTC).
Anybody interested in attending the reception should email denise.fraser@seafish.co.uk.
