FisheryProgress.org Adds Fishery Improvement Ratings
Fishery Ratings on Tracking Website Make Sustainability Decisions Easier
Fort Collins, Colorado – April 3, 2017. Seafood buyers who source from fishery improvement projects (FIPs) will have easier access to A-E progress ratings on the FisheryProgress.org FIP tracking website. A partnership announced today adds Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s (SFP) progress ratings to the FisheryProgress.org site launched and administered by FishChoice.
“The FIP progress ratings tool has already been useful for Sobeys,” said Scott Tudor, director of sustainability at Sobeys. “Integrating the ratings with FisheryProgress.org makes keeping track of FIPs we’re involved with that much easier.”
The addition of the progress ratings means that each FIP profile on FisheryProgress.org will have an A-E progress rating associated with it. This rating makes it easy for potential buyers to understand how quickly a FIP is making progress toward its end goals. SFP ratings are derived using a methodology which has been endorsed by the Conservation Alliance and uses publicly available data uploaded by FIPs to SFP’s FIP Directory, individual FIP websites, and more recently FisheryProgress.org. Until now, these ratings were only accessible on SFP’s FishSource database.
“Ratings information help buyers make better and easier decisions about sourcing from FIPs,” said Richard Boot, founder and president of FishChoice. “We thank our partners at SFP for working with us to make this important upgrade to FisheryProgress.org a reality.”
Going forward, SFP and FisheryProgress.org will update the ratings as the FIPs listed on the site provide biannual progress updates. This addition solidifies FisheryProgress.org as a one-stop shop for verified information about FIP progress.
“These progress ratings have been a critical tool for seafood industry sustainability leaders,” said Sean Murphy, communications manager at SFP. “We’re excited that the ratings are now on FisheryProgress.org so that buyers only need to go to one site to get all the information necessary to make the best decisions about sourcing from FIPs.”
Launched in 2016, FisheryProgress.org is a one-stop shop for information on the progress of global fishery improvement projects. It gives buyers consistent, verified information they need to make decisions about whether FIPs meet their sustainable seafood commitments. The website makes it possible for FIPs of any size or scope to connect with potential buyers, making sourcing from FIPs easier than ever.
About FishChoice, Inc.
Founded in 2008, FishChoice's mission is to create solutions that accelerate sustainability in the global seafood supply chain. FishChoice is the only organization that curates information from the global leaders in sustainable seafood assessments and certifications to design open-access platforms for businesses. FishChoice.com, launched in 2009, is supported by over 500 seafood supplier members with in-depth information on nearly 4,000 seafood products and approximately 300 species of seafood. FisheryProgress.org, launching in fall of 2016, is the first website to make transparent, reliable, easy-to-access fishery improvement project (FIP) progress information available to inform FIP sourcing. For more information please visit www.fishchoice.com.
About Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
Founded in 2006, the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation – known as Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) – is a nonprofit organization dedicated to rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental and social impacts of fishing and fish farming through engaging fishery stakeholders (communities, NGOs, government, etc.) and seafood businesses in every part of the supply chain. The organization works to improve fisheries through fishery improvement projects (FIPs) and aquaculture improvement projects (AIPs), which are multi-stakeholder bodies that seek to advance the sustainability of fishing and fish farming operations. SFP also supports Supply Chain Roundtables which allow seafood suppliers to work in a pre-competitive environment to promote improvement throughout the supply chain. Visit us at www.sustainablefish.org.