Seafish is helping the industry to become more sustainable through a variety of activities:

• Bringing together fishermen, environmentalists and others from across all sectors of the seafood industry in the Seafish Sustainable Fisheries Advisory Committee to consider and advise Seafish on the strategic priorities of the UK catching sector taking due account of the need for conservation and stability.
• Seafish marine technologists work with fishermen to develop and test gear designs which are more selective.
• Producing guidelines for the use of square mesh panels in prawn trawls which reduce the by-catch of juvenile haddock and whiting.
• Co-ordinating an international research project on scallop dredge design to reduce environmental impact.
• Development of a new trawl design with an escape hatch for dolphins.

Forthcoming projects include:

• Developing a UK training course in responsible fishing.
• Co-ordinating a pilot project to develop a high quality, low volume sustainable pelagic fishery in Cornwall – a model which we hope can be developed throughout the UK.
• Investigating new ways to use the waste products left over from Britain’s processing industry.
• Leading an international project called Tracefish, developing a Europe-wide scheme which traces seafood from net to plate.  This will help the seafood industry deliver consistent, clear labelling for seafood so that consumers can make informed choices about what to purchase.

Useful websites:

Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science
www.cefas.co.uk

World Wildlife Fund
www.wwf.org.uk

Marine Stewardship Council
www.msc.org

Marine Conservation Society
www.mcsuk.org