Stay connected to ISSF throuh the Sustainability Blog Page. Book mark this page and check it daily for the latest on efforts to conserve and sustainably fish the world's tuna supply. Recent Blog Entries30 August 10
By Susan Jackson President, ISSF
Periodic assessments are good. Our work would lack direction without them. We assess our performance at the office, our organization’s collective performance, exam grades and our refrigerators on occasion. These check-ups are not flawless. So sometimes, for the big things, we need an assessment of our assessment.
Ecolabels, environmental seals of approval, would be considered a big thing when it comes to sustainability. ISSF is a strong supporter of the labels that follow international standards for certification. We don’t certify fisheries ourselves nor do we have a label. Still, our partnership recognizes the value in credible environmental seals of approval. To maintain credibility certifiers like the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), structured the process so that anyone interested can get involved in assessing whether a fishery should get access to a label in the first place.
(read more) | 17 June 10
By John Hampton, ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee
The Pacific Islands region is rich with natural resources and the ocean provides a great deal of that wealth. Tuna fisheries around these parts are integral to the marine environment, our diets and the economy that supports us all. Still, these are developing nations and territories, financial resources are limited and in some cases altogether scarce.
This reality on the ground, and indeed on the water, here in the middle of the Pacific makes any investment in scientific research a significant achievement. This week, the Managing Director of Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority (NFA) announced his agency will fund a tuna tagging programme to the tune of USD 3 million. No matter the region, or its wealth, that’s a lot of money.
(read more) | 10 June 10
By Miguel Jorge, ISSF Board of Directors
Overcoming long-standing unsustainable practices requires commitment, innovation and some courage among those involved to chart a new course even though the future is uncertain. Change that is truly profound and lasting requires knowledge of the issues at hand as well as thoughtful analysis with input from diverse stakeholders. We should all be very wary of the unintended consequences of the “the quick fix” or the “simple solution.” This is especially true for all complex global issues, such as reducing CO2 emissions or control high seas fishing.
There’s no denying that tuna fishing has some significant unsustainable elements to it. It is also important to acknowledge that tuna represents an important source of nutrition for millions of people around the world and a significant source of income and jobs for many developing coastal nations that have few economic alternatives. While technical accuracy is not their strong point, Greenpeace-UK has been quite successful at drawing the UK consumer’s attention to the problems associated with tuna fishing. Now some retailers in the UK are falling over themselves to find that “quick fix” which may not fix very much at all.
(read more) | 22 April 10
By Mike Crispino, Manager, Media Communications
When I was a kid, marking Earth Day meant picking up litter, planting flowers and trees and learning about this cool new thing called recycling. In the classroom, which was about the only place most kids ever heard about Earth Day or environmental issues back in the 80's, teachers didn't mention our oceans much. Sure we learned about whales and fish and coral but not on Earth Day and we didn't learn nearly as much about the things we couldn't touch as the things we could.
Years after my April schoolyard cleanups and dirt-digging, daisy-planting adventures, I'm now paying attention to a different part of our planet. A much larger part of our planet.
More than 70% of Earth's surface is covered by ocean. An amazing fact. Especially for a kid who only ever learned about saving the other 30% Earth's surface. Our oceans are home to a tremendous amount of marine life, diverse marine life. Some of the sea is in need of saving.
| 26 March 10 Marking a Milestone |
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