The Common Language Group

The Common Language Group (CLG) provides a safe meeting space to discuss the key issues facing a responsible seafood supply chain. The topics covered include fisheries management, legal fishing, fishing methods and how to trace and track seafood along the supply chain. It also covers how seafood is bought and eaten in and out of the home. It is an opportunity to share new ideas or case studies from around the world.

The group is led by our industry and we take responsibility for running the CLG. The Group has met three times a year since 2007. The CLG brings together people who represent the retail, processing, food service and restaurant industry. Other people who attend are not-for-profit voluntary groups, consumer groups, governments, scientists and producer organisations.

CLG meetings and bite-size meetings

There are generally three meetings a year. The presentations and minutes from the most recent meetings are below. Presentations and minutes from previous meetings are available from Karen Green.

Due to Covid-19 we are running shorter online bite-size CLG meetings in 2020 and 2021.

Next meeting

The next meeting will be in November 2021. For further information, please contact: Karen Green

Previous two bite-size meetings

Add locally caught fish to your staycation menu (13 July 2021). As we embrace ‘staycations’ this could be the ideal opportunity to promote locally-sourced seafood, both in and out of the home. This meeting explored how the industry is championing fish and shellfish from UK waters; how fish lists can help consumers make the right sourcing choices; and how the seafood supply chain is supporting fishery management improvements on the water. See the presentations:

Championing UK fish – passionate about fish. Sue Lucas, The Fish Shop independent fishmonger.
New Good Fish Guide website. Charlotte Coombes, Marine Conservation Society.
Update on Project UK. Jo Pollett, Marine Stewardship Council.

Credibility and the seafood supply chain (19 May 2021). Fisheries management has improved significantly over the past 30 years, and the whole seafood industry is working hard to limit its impact and improve transparency, but the seafood industry continues to make headlines for the wrong reasons. Seaspiracy, the Netflix documentary, questions the credibility and transparency of the sustainable seafood movement, and a recent Guardian article has put seafood fraud back in the spotlight once again. This meeting addressed misinformation as a key issue facing a responsible seafood supply chain. See the presentations:

From fishery science to fake news: how misinformation about the ocean evolves. Ray Hilborn, Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington.
What Seaspiracy means for the sustainable seafood movement in general. David Parker, Marine Stewardship Council.
Bad Press – Crisis or Opportunity? Clarus Chu and Helen McLachlan, WWF.

Terms of Reference and archive

We have archived presentations from previous CLG bite-size meetings. These are available from Karen Green.

Presentations from our face-to-face CLG meetings are available from Karen Green

View The Common Language Group Terms of Reference (March 2019)

Subscribe to receive our monthly update and meeting details

Notes and minutes on the bite-size meetings can be found below.

CLG bite-size meeting notes

CLG monthly newsletters

Contacts

For further information, please contact: Karen Green