High Liner Foods Achieves 99% of Sustainable Sourcing Goal

High Liner Foods announced that it has achieved 99 percent of its goal to source all its seafood from “certified sustainable or responsible” fisheries and aquaculture. The company made a pledge in November 2010 to reach this goal by the end of 2013.

Three years ago the company set a goal that changed the way it did business. Of the eight major species of fish and shellfish that High Liner Foods purchases, it has achieved 100 percent of its goal for Atlantic cod, haddock, pollock, sole/flounder, Pacific cod and Pacific salmon. The company has achieved 98 percent of its commitment for tilapia and 91 percent for shrimp. Combined, those species totaled 196 million pounds of product purchased in 2013. Among the species that don’t currently meet High Liner’s sustainability criteria are various species of squid, ocean perch, and small wild shrimp.

Its stock comes from fisheries and aquaculture farms certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program, or the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).

High Liner Foods has published a progress report documenting some of the major fishery improvement projects it has participated in, along with areas of the business where its sustainability focus is expanding, such as packaging, energy efficiency, carbon footprint and social responsibility.