On World Oceans Day, June 8, Publix announced its continued efforts to support seafood sustainability and protect ocean wildlife. This year’s donations bring the company’s total contributions to more than $600,000 during the 13-year collaboration with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
“It is important to Publix that we support and assist seafood industry leaders so that meaningful and lasting steps can be taken to protect marine life while allowing for the responsible and sustainable harvesting of seafood,” said Publix Business Development Director of Seafood Guy Pizzuti.
Over the last year, Publix has donated over $165,000 to SFP to help support fishery and aquaculture improvement projects and other efforts to advance seafood sustainability.
The World Oceans Day donations included more than $83,000 for ropeless fishing gear, more than $42,000 for electronic monitoring to reduce bycatch and Publix’s annual $40,000 donation to support SFP’s initiatives to achieve steady and continuous improvements in fisheries.
Ropeless fishing gear, commonly known in the fishing industry as on-demand gear, includes enhanced traps that catch lobster and crab from the ocean floor but help eliminate the risk of whales getting entangled in the ropes. The gear is supplied through gear libraries to fishers and commercial fisheries free of charge.
Unintended catch, or bycatch, is when fisheries accidentally catch nontarget wildlife, such as whales, sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and seabirds. Five fishing boats within Publix’s supply chain have been equipped with high-quality cameras and monitoring equipment that collect data on the effectiveness of best practices to reduce bycatch in the mahi-mahi, swordfish and yellowfin tuna fisheries in Costa Rica and Panama. The equipment records when and where bycatch occurs, tracks migration patterns and gathers data on the species involved.
The company’s annual donation supports SFP’s initiatives and efforts to advance fishery improvement projects, including addressing bycatch in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery and fostering healthy growth of blue swimming crab in various fishing locations.
“These donations from Publix are important for two reasons,” said SFP Director of Biodiversity and Nature Kathryn Novak. “First, it sends a signal to fishermen that retailers like Publix are interested in seeing these changes made to protect ocean wildlife from fishing impacts and, second, it helps the fishers over the hurdle of investing in new gear or practices. SFP is proud to partner with Publix on these important initiatives.”
SFP is a nonprofit marine conservation organization that works with retailers, seafood buyers and supply chains to help rebuild fish stocks and reduce impacts of the fishing industry on ocean wildlife and the marine environment.
To learn more about Publix’s sustainability efforts, including seafood sustainability, visit publix.com/seafoodsustainability.
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