Association of Peruvian Anchovy Producers Pursues MSC Certification

    DARTMOUTH, NS, July 21 /CNW/ - (Ocean Nutrition Canada) - These days,
consumers aren't just shopping, they're "voting" with their purchase dollars,
buying products that are local, recycled, or from sustainable sources. This
trend towards conscious consumerism is literally changing the world: If given
the choice between products from unregulated sources and products from
certified sustainable sources, research from the US-based Natural Marketing
Institute shows consumers will, despite the sometimes higher cost, purchase
the certified option.
    Given this demand for eco-friendly products, especially in the seafood
industry, it is increasingly important for products to have traceability;
consumers, suppliers, and retailers alike want to know where a product comes
from, how it was made, who it was made by, and where the materials used to
make it were sourced.
    Ocean Nutrition Canada (ONC) depends on healthy, sustainable fisheries to
ensure future business growth and success, and takes great pride in sourcing
its fish oil from Peru, which has one of the world's most regulated fisheries.
In fact, the fish oil ONC uses to make its MEG-3(R)-branded dietary supplement
and healthy food ingredients is a by-product of the Peruvian fishmeal
industry, meaning ONC makes use of a product considered a waste product in
another industry.
    With that in mind, ONC congratulates the members of La Asociación de
Productores de Anchoas del Perú (Association of Peruvian Anchovy Producers) on
their recent - and unanimous - voluntary decision to pursue ecolabel
certification through the London, UK-based Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
The MSC is the world's leading sustainable seafood certification and
ecolabeling organization. British food giant, Unilever, together with the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF), formed the MSC in 1997 to promote responsible,
sustainable fishing practices after watching the North Atlantic cod fishery
(once the world's largest and richest fishery) collapse in the 1990s. With its
global partners, the MSC has developed standards for sustainable fishing and
seafood traceability, ensuring MSC-labeled seafood comes from, and can be
traced back to, sustainable sources.
    "Ocean Nutrition has worked with the Association of Peruvian Anchovy
Producers for more than a year now to discuss the opportunities an MSC
ecolabel presents to both the association and ONC," said ONC's Chief Operating
Officer, Daniel Emond. "MSC's blue eco-label is an excellent business tool
that publicly demonstrates a business's or organization's open and honest
commitment to sustainable, traceable seafood sources that will continue to be
available to future generations. ONC proudly supports the Association of
Peruvian Anchovy Producers in its decision to voluntarily pursue MSC
certification. We are beyond pleased to be associated with an organization
that takes its commitment to sustainability seriously enough to seek
independent verification of its management practices."
    The Association of Peruvian Anchovy Producers is a group of companies
that produce and export anchovy products. In its boom years, the Peruvian
anchovy fishery was the largest new fishery in the world. Before 1950,
anchovies were mainly harvested for human consumption. When the California,
USA, sardine fishery collapsed in 1950, Peruvian fishers acquired the boats
and fishmeal producing equipment at bargain prices. The first fishmeal plants
opened there in 1953 and within nine years, Peru became the top fishing nation
in the world by volume. Due to fishing and environmental pressures (El Nino
events), the Peruvian anchovy fishery collapsed in 1972. The government was
forced to take drastic measures, going so far as to close the fishery, but
with proper management, it has recovered. Even frequent El Nino events,
especially in the 1990s, did not stop its progress, demonstrating that a
well-managed fishery can withstand certain environmental pressures.
    "The Peruvian Anchovy Association has worked hard to ensure the recovery
and sustainability of the anchovy fishery," said Emond. "MSC certification
validates the work the association has done and the sacrifices its members
have made in not only saving this fishery, but in keeping it healthy and
thriving for more than 35 years. And, the Walton Family Foundation has been a
huge help as well in getting the association to the point where it could
proceed with the certification process."
    In recognition of their crucial roles as environmental leaders, companies
like Unilever and Wal-Mart have ramped up their global green commitments -
managing their environmental effects, reducing their footprints, and ensuring
their suppliers source products from sustainable, well-managed industries. At
Wal-Mart's 2008 Sustainability Symposium in Beijing, China, Wal-Mart Vice
Chairman, Mike Duke, and CEO, Lee Scott, laid Wal-Mart's supply chain
sustainability standards on the line, letting suppliers know what is expected
of them in the years to come and taking an unprecedented step in doing so: By
2012, Wal-Mart has publicly and emphatically stated it will not purchase from
suppliers who do not live up to its sustainability standards. Additionally, 95
percent of all fresh and frozen wild-caught seafood in North American Wal-Mart
stores must bear the MSC's blue ecolabel.
    "Fisheries and organizations that choose to pursue certification receive
more than just the opportunity to use the MSC's blue ecolabel on their
products. They join the ranks of the more than 100 major seafood businesses,
fishing groups, and conservation organizations that back the MSC, supporting
well-managed fisheries and helping preserve global fish stocks. That's an
incredible gift to future generations," said Emond.
    The Association of Peruvian Anchovy Producers' decision to pursue MSC
certification also benefits its business partners. Ecolabeling and conscious
consumerism are not passing trends. Eco-labels can - and do - shape consumer
buying habits. Based on half year figures from April to September 2008, the
approximate retail value of MSC-certified seafood products was $1.4 billion US
with the number of fisheries involved in the MSC program rising by 41 percent
during the same time period. Being part of the MSC program sets businesses
apart from the competition, publicly demonstrating their commitment to healthy
oceans and being part of a secure, traceable supply chain of sustainable
seafood and seafood products. As part of the MSC Supply Chain Certification,
every company involved from "boat to plate" is audited to ensure seafood
bearing the MSC label comes from a fishery that meets the MSC fishery
standard. The MSC meets best practice guidelines for eco-labeling and
certification and is the world's only seafood certification and eco-labeling
program that is consistent with such international norms as: The Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fishing (UNFAO); Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of
Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries (UNFAO); The Code of
Conduct for Setting Social and Environmental Standards (SEAL); and World Trade
Organisation Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement.
    This is an exciting time to be part of the seafood and seafood product
industries, ensuring their future success for generations to come. ONC is
thrilled to stand alongside the Association of Peruvian Anchovy Producers
during the MSC certification process and to be part of the global seafood
sustainability solution.

    About Ocean Nutrition Canada Limited:

    Ocean Nutrition Canada (ONC) is a privately held company, whose major
shareholder is Clearwater Fine Foods Incorporated. Clearwater Fine Foods
Incorporated is a diversified holding/investment company whose significant
holdings include a controlling interest in Clearwater Seafood's Limited
Partnership, the world's largest integrated shellfish harvester and processor.
ONC is a global leading supplier of Omega-3 EPA and DHA ingredients from fish
oil...essential nutrients that have been scientifically linked to supporting
heart health, brain health, and general wellness. ONC markets its MEG-3(R)
ingredients into the Dietary Supplement and Healthy Food markets. To date
MEG-3(R) ingredients have been included in over 40 billion servings of food
and supplement products world-wide. For more information on Ocean Nutrition
Canada Limited visit www.ocean-nutrition.com, and for more information on the
health benefits of Omega-3 EPA/DHA please visit www.meg-3.com.

    About the Marine Stewardship Council:

    The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit
organisation set up to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. The
MSC runs the only certification and eco-labelling programme for wild-capture
fisheries consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social
and Environmental Standards and the United Nations FAO guidelines for
fisheries certification. The MSC has offices in London, England; Seattle,
Washington, USA; Tokyo, Japan; Sydney, Australia; The Hague, Netherlands;
Edinburgh, Scotland; Berlin, Germany; and Cape Town, South Africa. In total,
more than 150 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 50 certified, more
than 100 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment.
Together the fisheries record annual catches of more than five million tons of
seafood. Of fish for human consumption, they represent more than 42 percent of
the world's wild salmon catch, 40 percent of the world's prime whitefish catch
and 18 percent of the world's lobster catch. Worldwide, more than 2000 seafood
products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label.
This year, the MSC celebrates 10 years of operations since the first fisheries
entered MSC assessment. For more information, visit www.msc.org.

For further information: Joanna Lane, Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd., (902)
480-3288, jlane@ocean-nutrition.com, www.ocean-nutrition.com