Sea Pact and GDST Announce Joint Work Program — Ten Companies Add Momentum to GDST Uptake

Press Release September 8, 2020

Washington – Ten leading seafood companies from North America--who together form the Sea Pact platform--have now added their names to the growing list of major stakeholders to endorse GDST 1.0, the groundbreaking new seafood traceability standards last March. In a joint statement released today, Sea Pact and GDST commit to collaborate on a work program in support of efficient, verifiable, and interoperable seafood traceability through implementation of the GDST standards.  Sea Pact’s endorsement is an important sign of the momentum continuing to build towards GDST adoption across the entire seafood sector.

"The adoption of the GDST 1.0 standards puts the seafood industry light years ahead of other protein sectors; on a shared route towards improving traceability, responsible sourcing, accountability and human welfare," said Stacy Schultz, Director of Marketing & Sustainability Coordinator at Fortune Fish and Gourmet, who is Chairwoman of the Sea Pact Advisory Board

As a leading pre-competitive collaboration, Sea Pact is dedicated to driving stewardship and continuous improvement of social, economic, and environmental responsibility throughout the global seafood supply chain.  Through the new work program with GDST, Sea Pact will continue to lead in their efforts to improve seafood traceability, increase the availability of information needed from the seafood supply base, and harmonize data reporting.

"Being able to speak to our suppliers and customers in a common language regardless of what platform and regardless of what data elements are able to be captured at any given point in time is incredibly powerful," said Richard Stavis, Chief Sustainability Officer at Stavis Seafoods.

The Sea Pact - GDST collaboration will be featured at a panel of the Seafood2030 Virtual Sustainability Forum on Wednesday, September 9, at 1:30-3:00 pm US EDT.  Come attend the panel or view the recording at your convenience!
As part of the joint work program, the GDST Secretariat will work with Sea Pact member companies to provide technical support for phased, business-smart implementation of the GDST standards.
"Sea Pact is showing the kind of leadership that is needed to make seafood a “best in class” performer for product traceability and responsible sourcing,” said David Schorr of WWF, on behalf of the GDST Secretariat.
The ten Sea Pact’s member companies are: *Euclid Fish Company, Fortune Fish and Gourmet, Inland Seafood, Ipswich Shellfish Group, J.J. McDonnell, North Atlantic, *Santa Monica Seafood, *Seacore Seafood, Seattle Fish Company, and *Stavis Seafoods (asterisks indicate companies that, in addition to adopting the GDST standards now, participated directly in the multi-year GDST drafting process). Taken together, Sea Pact companies represent the fourth largest seafood company in North America, and the 15th largest in the world.

For more information, please contact the GDST Secretariat at info@traceability-dialogue.org

About the Global Dialogue of Seafood Traceability (GDST)

The GDST is an international, business-to-business forum established to advance a unified framework for interoperable and verifiable seafood traceability. The Dialogue brings together more than five dozen companies from around the globe and across different parts of the seafood supply chain. In March 2020, after a multi-year industry-led drafting process, the GDST released the first-ever global standard (GDST 1.0) governing information content and data formats for seafood traceability systems. Learn more at www.traceability-dialogue.org.

About the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a global organization of over 15,000 individual members from more than 100 countries committed to advancing the science of food. Since 1939, IFT has brought together the brightest minds in food science, technology and related professions from academia, government, and industry to solve the world’s greatest food challenges. Our organization works to ensure that our members have the resources they need to learn, grow, and enhance their professional work within the global food system. We believe that science is essential to ensuring a global food supply that is safe, nutritious, sustainable and accessible to all. For more information, please visit ift.org.