More than half of cod production worldwide is certified, rated, or in a FIP, and almost all of that is certified or green-rated. However, considerable portions are red-rated or not yet assessed. Our improvement efforts prioritize cod and other whitefish fisheries and aquaculture operations that are:

• Red-rated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program (see all cod ratings here; you can also search for other whitefish species at this link); or
• Within the scope of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s Target 75 Initiative

A baseline step businesses can take to accelerate progress in improving performance is to prioritize the purchase of certified or Best Choice cod and encourage suppliers to pursue improvements. The collaboration is focused on improving the performance of whitefish fisheries and aquaculture by building on promising NGO and industry initiatives.

Seafood Watch

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program ratings are based on specific location and production method information. For detailed information, visit the Seafood Watch recommendations on cod, as well as those on other whitefish, such as brill, catfish, flounder, hake, halibut, perch, pollock, seabass, tilapia, and toothfish.

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

SFP’s “T75” initiative is focused on ensuring that at least 75% of world production in key sectors is sustainable (i.e., certified by the MSC program, or green-listed in SFP’s Metrics tool) or making regular, verifiable improvements. For wild production:

• Certified by one of the following programs: IFFO RS, ASMI RFM, Iceland Responsible Fisheries, Fair Trade USA
• Or under full assessment in the MSC program
• Or in a FIP that is making good progress (i.e., with a progress rating of A, B, or C using SFP’s FIP evaluation tool

All cod species fall within the scope of Target 75, specifically in the Whitefish sector. SFP has developed a visual display of T75 progress for each of the key seafood sectors, including whitefish. Please check the latest estimates here.

To learn more, visit the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s Northwest Atlantic Cod Supply Chain Roundtable, Russian Far East Whitefish Supply Chain Roundtable, and its South American Whitefish Supply Chain Roundtable. For detailed information, contact info@sustainablefish.org.

FIP/ AIP

There are several whitefish FIPs worldwide, including a few cod FIPs. These projects offer opportunities to contribute to sustainability improvements. To learn more about specific FIPs, consult the FisheryProgress.org FIP directory or the Improvement projects page of FishSource.