Canadians Need Better Seafood Labelling

Write the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, asking for sustainable seafood labelling laws

The Canadian government requires food to be labelled with ingredients and nutritional information to ensure consumers can make healthy choices when they shop. But what about the health of the environment?

More and more consumers are choosing earth-friendly products like organic food and chemical free detergents. When it comes to seafood though, consumers need more information before they can make ocean-friendly decisions.

The SeaChoice program helps consumers know which seafood products are more sustainable. SeaChoice is a nationwide program that uses scientific information to assess fisheries and aquaculture and makes these ratings publicly available to empower consumers who want to support practices that protect ocean ecosystems and reward responsible producers.

Using the SeaChoice ratings is most effective when consumers know how and where seafood was caught, factors that can make a vast difference in sustainability. Consumers need to know:

• the common and scientific name of the seafood
• whether it is farmed or wild
• the country and ocean region it was harvested from
• the gear or farming system that was used

Much of this information is already being tracked by the Canada Food Inspection Agency for imported seafood. Ensuring that this information is available to consumers lets you help protect our oceans for the long-term. And what seafood lover wouldn’t want to do that?

---

YOUR MESSAGE

Dear Minister Ritz,

Our oceans face many threats. I want to make a positive difference by helping to preserve and rebuild the health of our oceans and coastal communities by supporting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.

As a consumer, one of the most powerful ways I can make a difference is by supporting the most environmentally sustainable seafood. When I buy sustainable seafood I can reward producers that are doing the right thing and encourage the seafood industry to shift towards more sustainable practices.

However, in Canada our lack of seafood labeling laws limit my options for supporting sustainable seafood. Supermarket seafood labels do not have to tell me where or how my seafood was caught or farmed, information that is critical in evaluating sustainability.

To remedy this problem, and to help make Canada a leader in supporting sustainable resource use and food product traceability, I am asking you to implement national seafood labelling requirements for all seafood products sold in Canada. Similar laws are already in place in the United States and Europe.

A good Canadian law would require that all seafood labels include:

•    common and scientific name,
•    country of origin and ocean region,
•    farmed or wild caught, and
•    catch or farming method.

This information is imperative in order to enable consumers to make responsible choices.
 
In addition to strong labelling laws that enable individual action, I urge your government to enact and enforce laws that protect the health of ocean ecosystems and coastal communities over the long term. Improved fisheries and aquaculture management, development of marine protected areas and support of sustainable seafood will help to ensure Canada’s oceans thrive both today and for future generations.

Please personalize your message below.

(Required fields are marked with an asterisk*)

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Street

City

Province/State

Postal Code