10 Sep 2015

FIP: US Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish

The US Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish FIP is another Fishery Improvement Project of which Seattle Fish Co. supports. This FIP was initiated to address sustainability concerns that were outlined in a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) pre-assessment. While catch limits are in place and fisheries are rebounding under the current plan, there is a lack of information on fish that are caught and thrown back (discards).  Discards impact the overall health of those stocks and should be considered in management of the fishery.  The fishermen engaged in this FIP in 2010 and have made great strides over the past five years.  The FIP is currently in stage 5 which is focused on improvements in the water.

Gulf Wild is one of our best partners and they are an active participant in this FIP.  We source many gulf fish from their fleet including grouper, snapper, and by-catch.  Contact your sales rep to order some of these fully-traceable gulf species and support this FIP! For a full summary of the US Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery Improvement Project head over to Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s website. SFP is another one of our partners who we work with to support a number of FIPs and AIPs.

 

Goals of the FIP: 

  • Reduce uncertainty and increase the frequency of reef fish stock assessments. 
  • Obtain better bycatch and discard data.