Blue North Launches Initiative for Humane Wild Fish Harvesting

Blue North launched the Humane Harvest Initiative, an innovative step toward establishing ethical standards for fish harvesting. The HHI extends and deepens Blue North’s commitment to sustainability through several key components informed by strong scientific evidence, a commitment to more humane practices and coordination with the environmental community. “The Humane Harvest Initiative (HHI) is built on the recognition that wild fish are sentient beings that deserve to be harvested humanely,” says Kenny Down, president and CEO at Blue North. “This initiative represents a major step forward for Blue North, furthering our goal to provide the purest, healthiest whole food to our customers while at the same time being conscientious about how we treat marine life.” HHI has established a global board of advisors consisting of experts in sustainability, low-impact fishing methods, retail and wholesale marketing and sales, and nutritional and quality assurance. The founding board members include:

One of the ways HHI is working to establish more ethical practices is through the development of an innovative device that reduces stress and pain in wild fish during harvest. In addition to being a more humane method, numerous studies have shown that stress reduction prior to processing produces higher quality and healthier products for consumers. Blue North currently uses a pneumatic stunning machine on one of its vessels, which uses air pressure to render the fish’s central nervous system asleep before processing. The company is currently developing a next-generation device that relies on electrodes for added efficiency. “Fish experience the greatest amount of stress during harvesting and the quality of the fillets is adversely affected,” says Dr. Ovissipour. “In addition, stress conditions during harvesting and post-harvest processes can induce reactions that decrease the nutritional value and taste quality of the fish fillet.” The new HHI harvesting process will be implemented on all of Blue North’s vessels, including a soon-to-be debuted boat anticipated to be the most modern, humane and efficient fishing vessel ever built. That vessel is currently under construction and scheduled to go into operation in late 2015.