Certified Seafood Served at Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions From Marine Stewardship Council Wednesday, May 19, 2004 Is your seafood certified sustainable? Cooking for Solutions event features fish certified to the MSC's strict environmental standard Seattle, WA - Visitors to Monterey Bay Aquarium's two-day 2004 Cooking for Solutions event will taste seafood not only deemed to be ocean friendly - but certified as such under the international Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) program. The Mexican Baja California Red Rock (spiny) lobster is the most recent to be approved and is among only ten fisheries in the world to have earned certification under the international MSC program for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. The fishery can now use the distinctive blue and white MSC eco-label to identify its product as a best environmental choice in seafood - one hasn't been overfished or harvested in ways which harm the ocean. The Mexican spiny lobster will be among sustainable seafoods featured at Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions event May 21-22. Guests at the aquarium's Cooking for Solutions Gala on Friday night, May 21st, will be able to taste the spiny lobster prepared by the Executive Corporate Chef of the Shake Corporation, Mohamed Tabib. "For a chef, the spiny lobster offers incredible versatility? it's mild with a nice, sweet firm taste," said Chef Tabib. "It's a beautiful creature which gives a plate a nice presentation especially when served whole." Spiny lobster is a clawless lobster that has a shell covered with sharp spines to help ward off predators. They grow slowly taking seven to eleven years to mature. The lobsters are caught using fish or lobster traps and can be purchased live, fresh whole or tails or frozen. Baja California Red Rock (spiny) lobsters are caught by 500 fishermen belonging to nine fishing cooperatives spread over ten villages in Mexico. In order to work toward certification, the fishing cooperatives, organized under FEDECOOP, partnered with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and a local conservation group Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI). The result of the partnership is the tenth MSC certified fishery, the first in Latin America and the first in a developing country. Now, the Mexican spiny lobster fishermen are looking forward to accessing new markets for their product. "This certification is exciting for Mexico as well as for restaurants, retailers and consumers in states like California where there is intense interest in environmentally-friendly food products," said Jim Humphreys, Director of the Marine Stewardship Council's Americas office in Seattle. "This fishery is being recognized for its work to ensure the resource will be available for generations to come which translates to healthy, stable fishing communities. When consumers choose to purchase certified seafood like Mexican spiny lobster they are rewarding the responsibly managed fisheries and encouraging other fisheries to also protect the future of our favorite seafood choices." The MSC is an independent, international, non-profit organization originally created by the World Wildlife Fund and Unilever, one of the world's largest fish buyers. Fisheries come forward voluntarily to be assessed by a team of scientists against the MSC's strict environmental standard - those meeting the standard are awarded certification and, once they prove traceability, are able to label their product as such. The MSC ecolabel gives consumers a quick and easy way to identify seafood caught in an environmentally sustainable and responsible manner, helping solve, not contribute to, crises facing the world's fisheries. "Certification allows consumers to vote with their wallets to stop overfishing and create market incentives for healthy fisheries and, ultimately, healthier oceans," said Meredith Lopuch, Program Officer for WWF's California Marine Office. "It allows us all to reward those who have the foresight to protect our fisheries and our oceans for future generations. With the help of responsible fishermen and seafood businesses and the increasing availability of certified products, we can all help to save our seas." For more information, contact: Karen Tarica Communications Director Marine Stewardship Council