On May 9th 2019, in the context of the Seafood Expo Global taking place in Brussels, WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) organized an exclusive Breakfast Reception in the Atomium with Seafood Experts, Seafood Corporates as well as representatives of the European Commission. The event convened a session on common understanding of the importance of traceability and transparency along the seafood supply chain in order to:
Showcase the benefits of legal, traceable and sustainable seafood and present best practice examples to motivate the corporate sector to source sustainable and traceable seafood products.
Promote policies and guidelines supporting legal, sustainable and responsible production of seafood and emphasize the risks that threaten the health of fish stocks and the livelihoods of people depending on fish and the possibility of human rights abuses and horrific working conditions.
Present already existing tools and technologies to implement traceability. PNG FIA Chairman Sylvester Pokajam, commented during the discussion that; “PNG runs a robust and effective traceability systems to monitor the FIA members’ supply chain. These included the Fisheries Integrated Management System (FIMS), Catch Documentation Scheme (CDS) and its Observer program.’ He further stressed; “You all talk about IUU, why can’t forums like this just pinpoint where IUU is taking place and who is doing it so it can be addressed, instead of just talking about the subject with no actions.”