BIM Position Statement on Responsible Fishing and Aquaculture

At BIM we care about the future of the oceans and their resources, and the ongoing vibrancy of rural and coastal communities. As a measure of our commitment, we have developed a Position Statement on Responsible Fishing and Aquaculture.

This is a blueprint of BIM’s themes of responsibility and sets out a direction for ensuring responsible and sustainable development of stocks from fisheries and aquaculture.

BIM is committed to:

• Encouraging and promoting care of the catch/harvest and use of best practice throughout the seafood supply chain
  
  
• Developing new methods to reduce bycatch in fisheries
  
  
• Promoting continuous improvement of technology used in fishing, aquaculture and processing to help minimise environmental impact
  
  
• Protecting the ecosystem to maintain the natural resource
  
  
• Promoting a supply chain quality approach and encouraging use of accredited schemes such as the Quality Seafood Programme
  
  
• Promoting compliance with national and international law, seafood safety legislation, and international labelling and traceability requirements
  
  
• Facilitating ongoing education and training for all sectors of the fishing and aquaculture industries
  
  
• Growing membership of the Seafood Circle, which recognises best practice and seafood excellence in the food service and retail sectors, and aims to encourage responsible procurement
  
  
• Supporting diversification of the seafood industry in coastal regions so as to enhance the contribution of the sector to employment, income and welfare both regionally and nationally