Special Thanks To Our Platinum Sponsor

Seafood Choices Alliance Also Thanks

And Partner

Seafood Summit 2008

Global Challenges, Local Solutions

Barcelona, Spain
January 27 - 30, 2008

The sustainable seafood movement has matured into a global concept and principle of business that companies are struggling to incorporate into their corporate policies and buying guidelines. In January 2008, Seafood Choices Alliance’s Seafood Summit 2008, “Global Challenges, Local Solutions,” brought together business and conservation leaders from around the world to discuss critical and timely issues as well as explore opportunities for increasing the sustainability of the seafood industry. While many trade shows offer companies networking opportunities to showcase their products and services, Seafood Summit is the only venue to connect large and small companies from a diverse array of industries with leaders from the conservation community to bridge the gap between the latest science and the reality of the seafood marketplace.

Seafood Summit 2006 saw major seafood buyers and retailers making commitments to sustainability. Seafood Summit 2007 explored how those companies would meet their commitments. Seafood Summit 2008 continued to examine how companies could meet their sustainability commitments, but also looked beyond the boardroom to consider the global challenges that the industry is faced with, including issues of climate change, illegal fishing, and impacts on developing countries.

2008 was the first year the Summit was held outside the United States. Not only did the Summit hit record numbers with approximately 350 attendees representing over 200 unique companies and organizations, the composition of attendees was far and away the most diverse in the history of the Seafood Summit. For the first time, the percentage of attendees from outside the U.S. exceeded the percentage from within the U.S., hailing from 34 different countries. Also for the first time, the Summit welcomed attendees from six African countries, six Asian countries, and three countries in Latin America.

• Download the 2008 Agenda (.pdf)
  • English
  • Español
  • Français

The 2008 agenda included the following sessions:

• Organic Farmed Fish in Europe and North America
• Protecting the Ocean that Feeds Us: how CO2 pollution threatens the seafood industry, and what we can do about it
• Seafood Traceability
• Effecting Seafood Sustainability: What do European decision-makers, consumers and industry need to know?
• Engaging with Problem Fisheries: How can retailers and processsors help “red list” fisheries become sustainable?
• Beginners Guide to Credible Eco-labeling
• The Lira-Carnota Initiative: Galician fisherman switching to sustainability
• Talking to the Consumer: How well do we communicate seafood sustainability issues to the end user of the product?
• Mediterranean and East Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: Current situation in relation to the state of the stock, management of the fishery, trade and consumption.
• Global Aquaculture Performance Index (GAPI) – A standardized approach to sustainable aquaculture analysis.
• Feed the World: Does a global sustainable seafood movement help or hinder developing countries?
• Closing Ports to IUU-Caught Fish
• FishSource: Helping bridge the information gap in sustainable seafood sourcing policies.
• Retailers Define “Sustainable” Seafood: A look at the internal seafood sourcing guidelines of U.S. and European food retailers.
• Quality and Traceability: Issues for the artisinal fishing sector in West Africa
• Web 2.0 and New Tools for Communicating about Sustainable Seafood
• Empowering the Gatekeepers: Chefs, fishers and conservationists unite for seafood sustainability.
• Managing Responsible Aquaculture Assurance: The challenges of standards and certification.
• Great Expectations: How Wal-Mart’s seafood commitment has been a catalyst for change.
• Food Miles: The next big sustainability issue or a fundamentally flawed concept?
• Collective Fisheries Management: The experience of Mediterranean fishers (Prud’homies) and the Langoustine Fishermen from the Bay of Biscay
• Friend of the Sea – Certification and promotion of sustainable fisheries
• Global Trends in Seafood and Sustainability

Read news stories about the 2008 Seafood Summit in Barcelona, Spain.