MarViva promotes responsible consumption of fishery products MarViva promotes responsible consumption of fishery products
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- Published on Monday, 19 December 2011 22:11
- Written by Super User
The relative abundance of sailfish in the Eastern Tropical Pacific has decreased by more than 82% in recent years. | © Avi KLAPFERSan José, Costa Rica. 11/09/2011. With support from the MarViva Foundation, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) recently included several standards related to the consumption of species of environmental interest and preference for species captured using responsible fishing practices in its Compliance Guide for the Tourism Sustainability Certificate.
These standards commit the tourism business to:
- Give preference to hiring vendors that market products obtained using responsible fishing practices.
- Not buy or include on the menu any fish or shellfish species whose fishing is prohibited or banned seasonally or ones that are categorized as endangered, vulnerable or threatened.
- Not offer on the menu any foods prepared with fish or shellfish species that are sporting attractions, such as sailfish, blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, tarpon and rooster fish, among others.
- Purchasing fish and shellfish products accompanied by a guide containing the scientific names of the species, common and commercial names of the product and capture area.
- Ensuring and disclosing to clients and collaborators that the species purchased for the restaurant’s use meet the recommended minimum size for capture (size parameters that indicate mature size).
These measures represent an improvement to the environmental parameters defined in the Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST), an ICT program designed to categorize and differentiate tourism businesses according to the degree to which their operations comply with a model of sustainability, in terms of natural, cultural and social resource management.
Jorge Jiménez, General Director of Marviva, said that “these actions are a significant contribution to the conservation of billfish and other vulnerable species whose populations are currently endangered.” He added that MarViva aims to alert consumers about the importance of making purchasing decisions that have a positive impact on biodiversity.
Current status of billfish
Sailfish and marlins, known as billfish, are highly migratory species. They are very important in sport fishing, generating income that is higher than commercial fishing income for the same species.
The relative abundance of sailfish in the Eastern Tropical Pacific has decreased by more than 82% in recent years.
Marlins are showing conditions similar to those of the sailfish, which is why the new standards for the Sustainable Tourism Certificate program require that tourism entrepreneurs not include these species on the menu
These standards commit the tourism business to:
- Give preference to hiring vendors that market products obtained using responsible fishing practices.
- Not buy or include on the menu any fish or shellfish species whose fishing is prohibited or banned seasonally or ones that are categorized as endangered, vulnerable or threatened.
- Not offer on the menu any foods prepared with fish or shellfish species that are sporting attractions, such as sailfish, blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, tarpon and rooster fish, among others.
- Purchasing fish and shellfish products accompanied by a guide containing the scientific names of the species, common and commercial names of the product and capture area.
- Ensuring and disclosing to clients and collaborators that the species purchased for the restaurant’s use meet the recommended minimum size for capture (size parameters that indicate mature size).
These measures represent an improvement to the environmental parameters defined in the Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST), an ICT program designed to categorize and differentiate tourism businesses according to the degree to which their operations comply with a model of sustainability, in terms of natural, cultural and social resource management.
Jorge Jiménez, General Director of Marviva, said that “these actions are a significant contribution to the conservation of billfish and other vulnerable species whose populations are currently endangered.” He added that MarViva aims to alert consumers about the importance of making purchasing decisions that have a positive impact on biodiversity.
Current status of billfish
Sailfish and marlins, known as billfish, are highly migratory species. They are very important in sport fishing, generating income that is higher than commercial fishing income for the same species.
The relative abundance of sailfish in the Eastern Tropical Pacific has decreased by more than 82% in recent years.
Marlins are showing conditions similar to those of the sailfish, which is why the new standards for the Sustainable Tourism Certificate program require that tourism entrepreneurs not include these species on the menu
