What’s Happening Down on the Dock

the town dock camalari | fresh seafood loaded off dockWithin the last few weeks, The Town Dock has had two exciting announcements that allow the company to continue to hold squid to a higher standard.

The Town Dock to be Assessed for MSC Certification

On June 29, 2017 the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that The Town Dock requested a sustainability assessment for MSC certification. This assessment is currently being conducted by SCS Global Services, the first independent sustainability certifier to be MSC accredited. A positive pre-assessment of the fishery was completed this past January. In addition to the longfin inshore squid (Doryteuthis pealeii), The Town Dock has also agreed to have the Illex (Illex illecebrosus) squid fishery assessed under the MSC standards.

What is the assessment?

This assessment is based on the MSC’s three principles that every fishery must meet: the health of the fish stock, the impact of fishing on the marine environment, and management of the fishery. These standards reflect the best fisheries science and management practices and were developed in planning with scientists, industry, and conservation groups.

What does it mean for The Town Dock?

To have the blue MSC label on seafood products means that the seafood comes from a wild-catch fishery, which has been independently certified to the MSC’s standards for environmentally sustainable fishing. It also means that the product is fully traceable to a sustainable source.

Meeting The Town Dock Standards

At The Town Dock, we value our customers above all. We strive every day to provide the highest quality product to our customers. We fish our seafood in a way that minimizes damage to the environment to help protect earth’s natural resources.

“Throughout our 37 years of business, our goal has always been to provide customers with a healthy and sustainable seafood product,” said Katie Almeida, Fishery Policy Analyst at The Town Dock. “By certifying longfin squid, we hope to take that promise of sustainability a step further, and to provide our customers with squid for many years to come.”

To read the complete release, visit www.savingseafood.org/news/conservation-environment/first-squid-fishery-begins-marine-stewardship-council-assessment/

The Town Dock Becomes Newest Member of SCeMFiS

On July 11, 2017, Intershell Interactional Corporation and the Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. became the newest industry partners at the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS). This organization is a partnership between fishing industry members, government agencies, non-profits, trade organizations, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), and is a part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program.

SCeMFiS is responsible for research projects that have led to major breakthroughs in fisheries science. Many of these research projects are relevant to The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd., and the two companies have chosen to partner with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science as their affiliated academic institution. The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. can help determine funding for research projects, which are important to industry needs. The SCeMFiS membership also allows the companies to expand upon their current commitment to sustainable and responsible fishing.

The Town Dock and Seafreeze Ltd. have pooled their funds to become the first SCeMFiS combined Industry-Advisory Board (IAB) Member. Katie Almeida, Fishery Policy Analyst with The Town Dock and Meghan Lapp, Fisheries Liaison at Seafreeze Ltd. state, “We are both looking forward to working with SCeMFiS to help close scientific data gaps, give more scientific certainty to stock assessments and the fishery management process, and provide stability for the future of our businesses.” The Town Dock is the largest supplier of longfin squid (calamari) in the United States, and Seafreeze Ltd. is the largest producer and trader of at sea frozen fish on the U.S. East Coast.

The Town Dock joins other SCeMFiS partners like Bumble Bee Seafoods Inc., Lund’s Fisheries, National Fisheries Institute Scientific Monitoring Committee, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and Omega Protein.

To read the complete release, visit www.savingseafood.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/SCEMiFS-Relase.pdf