The Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) was launched in 2015 by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, a US-registered non-profit that works directly with the seafood industry to deliver sustainable seafood. The project started with the support and participation of five companies: UK retailers, Asda (the first company to report via the ODP), Morrisons, and Co-operative Food; and aquaculture feed producers, Biomar and Skretting. The ODP has continued to expand, with Publix, the first North American participant, joining in 2017, to a total of sixteen companies in 2018.
Participation in the ODP is free and is open to all businesses that source wild-caught seafood. Companies are simply invited to submit the list of fisheries from which they source and there is no requirement to provide data that may be commercially confidential. This list is intended to cover all main wild-caught species sourced during the reporting period.
Once the list of fisheries has been received, we combine this with environmental information including stock status and management ratings using scores from the FishSource database and other sustainability ratings providers. We also include notes on the environmental impact of the fishery on bycatch (non-target species caught by accident); the impact on protected, endangered and threatened (PET) species; and the seabed.
The ODP website acts as a common platform through which company profiles can be shared, providing valuable information to responsible investors, other seafood businesses, sustainable seafood and CSR professionals, and seafood consumers.
FishChoice Supplier Members who meet the following eligibility criteria for ODP compliance will be recognized on both the FishChoice platform and ODP website:
- The FishChoice Supplier Member must provide a self-declaration that the products listed on its profile page represent the full list* of wild-caught seafood sources (*with exception given to seafood products sourced in especially small volumes or as test products)
- The FishChoice Supplier Member must check, and update as necessary, the products listed on its profile page annually
NEWS: Ocean Disclosure Project Partners With FishChoice to Boost Seafood Transparency (Undercurrent News, 2/7/19)
