Our ocean resources are under a variety of threats. One threat that has existed for centuries, and has recently increased with the rise of industrial fishing in the 1950's, is the unsustainable taking of our ocean resources, particularly for food and ornamental purposes. More than 90 million tons of seafood are removed from the ocean each year to meet consumer demand. At the same time, many marine species are under threat from the effects of habitat destruction, climate change, acidification and pollution. In addition, whole fisheries have collapsed due to mismanagement, such as the cod fishery off the coast of Newfoundland and the wild sturgeon fisheries of North America and Europe.

And it's not just fish. Approximately 3.3 million pounds of coral are removed from the ocean for use in aquaria, home décor objects, jewelry and as road-building material. Since the 1980's, the amount of red and pink corals that fishermen have collected has declined between 60 to 80 percent. And corals around the world are under threat from coastal development, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change and ocean acidification.

The sustainability of these resources and the people that depend on them requires that those in the seafood and jewelry industries ensure their actions are not adversely impacting marine life. SeaWeb believes that businesses can positively impact our ocean—especially those businesses that rely on the sustainability of our ocean resources. SeaWeb works closely with the seafood industry and the jewelry and design industries through its Seafood Choices Alliance program and its Too Precious to Wear campaign. Both industries are helping pave the way for others to ensure the future of our ocean resources.

Sustainability in the Seafood Industry

In the last 10 years the sustainable seafood industry has been one of the most positive forces for good in ensuring that seafood is available now and for future generations. While much work remains to be done, leaders within the global seafood supply chain—from fishermen, fish farmers, suppliers, retailers, chefs and restaurateurs and consumers—are taking positive actions to ensure the fish and shellfish they catch, source and offer is:

• from a healthy population,
• caught or farmed using methods that don’t harm marine life, and
• from fisheries or farms that are responsibly managed.

These widely accepted sustainability principles are adapted from the Marine Stewardship Council's criteria.

SeaWeb's Seafood Choices Alliance is an international program that seeks to provide leadership and create opportunities for change throughout the seafood industry and ocean conservation community. Seafood Choices builds relationships and stimulates dialogue in an effort to encourage all sectors of the seafood industry to make changes that embrace sustainability.

It offers workshops and meetings on seafood sustainability that are held in both the France, United Kingdom and the United States, helping a variety of different sectors navigate the complex issues of sourcing responsible seafood. Seafood Choices' largest event is the Seafood Summit, the world's largest conference dedicated solely to sustainable seafood. The Summit brings together global representatives from the fishing, fish farming, retailer, culinary, academic and conservation sectors to discuss the issues impacting the sustainability of seafood resources.

Seafood Choices Alliance provides online resources to help those in the seafood industry research how to follow sustainable practices.

One online resource available for download from Seafood Choices is Sourcing Seafood: A Professional's Guide to Procuring Ocean-Friendly Fish and Shellfish. This identifies suppliers of sustainable seafood as well as valuable information on seafood species.

In the United Kingdom, Seafood Choices Alliance facilitates an initiative called Good Catch, which brings together the work of four organizations' efforts focused on the chef and food service sectors. Good Catch has produced a guide called The Good Catch Manual: A Rough Guide to Seafood Sustainability. The manual distills complex seafood species information in an easy-to-use format and provides practical information such as "Top Tips" and "Questions to Ask your Supplier" to enable busy catering professionals to make responsible seafood choices.

Similarly, in France, Seafood Choices Alliance (L'Alliance Produits de la Mer) launched the Guide des Espèces, also for professional seafood buyers.

In addition, SeaWeb offers science-based Aquaculture Resources, from ocean issue briefs that give overviews of aquaculture issues to background information on specific species.

Using Alternatives to Real Coral

Corals are among the most important animals in the sea. They provide marine life with food, safe havens from predators and areas for reproduction. More than 5,000 coral species (hard and soft corals) can be found in shallow and deep ocean waters. Shallow-water tropical reefs are suffering from many environmental impacts, including the effects of coastal development, destructive fishing practices, climate change, pollution, overfishing of animals that live on the reefs, and removal of the reefs for use in home décor objects as well as the curio and aquarium trade. One-third of shallow water, reef-building species are threatened with extinction, making them one of the most endangered animal groups on the planet.

Deep-sea corals are also under threat from ocean acidification and destructive fishing practices. Of particular note in the deep sea are the red, pink and black corals, where the biggest threat is extraction to meet consumer demand for jewelry and other decorative objects. The red and pink coral species (Corallium) found in the Mediterranean Sea has been used for centuries in jewelry and decorative items.

SeaWeb is working with those in the jewelry and design industries to encourage use of alternatives to real coral, leaving coral in the ocean where it provides a number of important ecosystem services. SeaWeb's Too Precious to Wear campaign provides information on real coral alternatives, such as wax and metal, and works with business leaders to promote their ocean-friendly approach and products. In addition, the campaign works with the jewelry and design sectors to bring about meaningful protections for coral at the international and policy level.

For information on alternatives to real coral, see Too Precious to Wear's information on alternative materials to real coral >>

Read about those who choose to be Ocean Voices for coral, retailers and designers who are successfully using alternatives to real coral in their products >>