Ninety percent of the world’s fisheries are either fully fished or overfished, so it’s more important than ever to diversify the seafood supply chain. In an effort to do just that, the James Beard Foundation (JBF) has announced a new Sustainable Seafood Partnership.
JBF believes increasing the sustainability of the seafood supply chain means involving everyone who fishes, farms, and distributes seafood along with the people who buy and cook it and those who consume it. That’s why the foundation created a new partnership with four foundational sustainable seafood purveyors as part of a new effort to increase access to sustainable seafood.
The first four Sustainable Seafood Partners are:
- Australis Barramundi, which nurtures young fish in land-based nurseries, then graduates them to free-swimming offshore net pens, leveraging the minimal environmental impact of barramundi.
- Blue Ocean Mariculture, which farms Hawaiian Kanpachi in the ocean off Hawaii island, operating a fully integrated mariculture facility that eliminates capture pressure on wild fish populations.
- Skuna Bay, which craft-raises salmon in a natural ocean environment off Vancouver Island and stores fish in recyclable packaging during transport.
- Verlasso, which pioneers new aquaculture traditions in Chilean Patagonia, producing farm-raised salmon and practicing consistent harvesting, processing, and delivery.
These partners will attend relevant industry events and public forums across the country, including JBF Sustainable Seafood Issue Summits and JBF Culinary Labs focused on sustainable seafood and fish. These events provide an opportunity for partners to engage chefs in a conversation about the issues and offer hands-on experiential learning opportunities, including fish butchery and seafood tastings.
