Celebrating local, sustainable seafood begins with proper traceability and labelling, including name of the species, where and how it was caught or farmed and where it was processed.

Traceability is the process by which this information is maintained throughout the seafood supply chain to the point of sale. Technological advances by Canadian producers is making this possible. Fish from sustainable fisheries, even those that catch dozens of different species, can now be traced throughout the supply chain.

However, without commitments by large retailers to support those producers and differentiate Canadian products through better labelling, Canadian seafood will stay out of reach for most Canadians. You won’t be sure of what you are eating, where it came from or how it was produced.

It’s time to shift how we value local fish.

Ask your retailer to provide better seafood labelling so you can support Canadian-produced sustainable seafood. You can also share our video on social media (see below) to spread awareness of this important issue.

In the fall of 2018 over 3,200 Canadians agreed to #JoinTheShift, signing a letter asking their retailers to source local, traceable, properly labelled fish.

SeaChoice is now working with retailers toward voluntary uptake of labelling and traceability best practices. To start, we created a toolkit to support retailers in sourcing sustainable, traceable seafood, and label it well. We are also working with retailers through Seafood Progress – our online resource for consumers to find out what Canada’s largest retailers are doing to support sustainable seafood. And finally, we continue to advocate for legislative changes. In the meantime Canadian retailers lag behind their U.S. and European counterparts.