On the day before the Brussels Seafood Expo, the Friend of the Sea day gathered 200 seafood companies and retailers from all 5 continents, mostly enthusiasts of the Friend of the Sea philosophy and approach.
The long list of scheduled presentations did not discourage the audience and the level of attention was high all through the day. Among the speakers some international institutions such as the European Aquaculture Society, the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization and BIM – the Irish Sea Fisheries Board. The two main international Certification Bodies, Bureau Veritas and SGS, spoke about their Friend of the Sea audit experience. NGOs such as the Earth Island Institute Dolphin-Safe Program and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership shared their on field experience, while some of the Friend of the Sea certified producers described their successful environmental conservation initiatives.
The Friend of the Sea companies presentations covered both farmed and wild-catch productions – Mussels (Spring Bay Seafoods and Frinsa del Noroeste); Shrimps (Norway Prawns); Tuna, Sardines and Mackerel (Generale Conserve); Kingfish, Mulloway and closed cycle Blulefin Tuna farming (Clean Seas); Fishmeal, Fishoil and Omega-3 supplements (Austral Group, Omega Protein, Sovapec Maromega).
The Maersk presentation generated quite a lot interest as it announced a closer collaboration with Friend of the Sea, the Dolphin-Safe Project and similar initiatives, to support sustainable fishing.
During the Gala Dinner ,the Friend of the Sea Awards were handed out to well deserving companies, for 6 different categories:
– the Swiss Manor SA (Retail Award);
– Spring Bay Seafoods Pty Ltd from Tasmania (Aquaculture Award);
– the Indonesian Prawns Trammel and Jermal Nets Artisanal Fishery and the sourcing company Panca Mitra Multi Perdana PT (Fisheries Award);
– the Swiss restaurant chain Sushi Zen of Covedis S.A. (Consumers Products Award);
– the French Coopérative Le Gouessant (Fishfeed Award);
– the US based Omega Protein Corporation, Inc. (Fishmeal and Fish Oil Award).
All Presentations are available for download from the Friend of the Sea Day area on www.friendofthesea.org
The Friend of the Sea Day in Brussels has been kindly sponsored by Generale Conserve (As do Mar brand of tuna, mackerel and Sardines – certified Friend of the Sea) (www.generaleconserve.it , www.asdomar.it )
Tel: +39.348.5650306 www.friendofthesea.org
