‘Robust traceability standards’ for all seafood sold in Canada will curb unsustainable practices, fraud, human rights abuses and illegal fishing
A group of 26 grocery chains, seafood industry stakeholders and experts is calling on the Canadian federal government to create “robust” traceability standards for all seafood sold in Canada.
In a letter, the collective asked the federal government to “commit to an ambitious timeline and plan to fulfil your mandate to implement boat-to-plate traceability for seafood.” It argued that the minimum standards should be expanded to ensure all seafood products are fully traceable from the point of harvest to final sale, including key information about “the who, what, where, when and how of fishing or farming, processing and distribution.”
“Seafood follows a highly complex path from a fishing vessel to people’s plates, with a risk of fraud and mislabelling at every step along the way,” wrote the group in the letter. “In Canada, seafood supply chains lack transparency, which poses health risks, results in millions of dollars lost from the legitimate economy and perpetuates unsustainable production, human rights abuses and destructive illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”
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