ProFish Achieves MSC Chain of Custody Certification

08 February 2012

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced today that OceanPro Industries Ltd, trading as ProFish, a family-owned business located in Washington D.C., has become the first MSC Chain of Custody certified seafood distributor in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. By being certified to the MSC's global standard for Chain of Custody, ProFish may now sell seafood products bearing the blue MSC ecolabel. 

Gregory J. Casten, President, said: "We view this as a real accomplishment. With our commitment to bringing knowledge regarding sustainable seafood, having MSC certification was an absolute must. Traceability in seafood is the way of the future and we are proud to be entrusted with this certification."

Stamp of confidence

John Rorapaugh, Director or Sustainable Operations at OceanPro put it this way: "I feel MSC certification has placed an exclamation point on our 10-year sustainable seafood journey. MSC certification is a sustainable stamp of confidence that our customers are familiar with and trust."                                          

Kerry Coughlin, MSC Regional Director, Americas, said, "We're pleased to welcome ProFish into the MSC program. They have worked to be in a position to offer a selection of MSC certified sustainable seafood and now, with Chain of Custody certification, they can demonstrate to their customers their commitment, vision and leadership."  

ProFish will now supply its customers with MSC certified fresh and frozen seafood products that include salmon, tuna, cod, haddock, several species of prawn, shrimp, crab, sablefish, pollock, swordfish, flounder, hake, Patagonian toothfish, and Pacific halibut.

About ProFish

Based in Washington D.C., ProFish operates throughout the Mid Atlantic U.S., providing custom cut fresh seafood to some of the country's most prestigious restaurants, hotels, resorts, steakhouses, casinos and country clubs.  In 1988, ProFish started as a one-pick- up-truck business that delivered quality products to appreciative customers. Currently, ProFish employs over 90 people and services more than 2,800 accounts while maintaining their original commitment to quality.

About Chain of Custody certification

The MSC Chain of Custody certification is a comprehensive traceability program that traces seafood from the point of sale back to an MSC certified fishery. It ensures that MSC labelled products are sourced from a fishery that is MSC certified, and it protects buyers and the fishery from fraudulent labelling and risks from fisheries carrying products from illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. As a result, the sustainability of the seafood product is ensured, the MSC certified fishery of origin receives well-deserved recognition, and incentive is created for other fisheries to commit to environmentally responsible fishing practices.

To obtain MSC Chain of Custody (CoC) certification, wholesalers and distributors must pass an independent, third-party audit that is conducted by an accredited certification body, and it must undergo annual surveillance audits to demonstrate it continues to meet the standard. The CoC standard focuses on having an internal traceability system and reliable operational systems in place to ensure that MSC certified seafood is kept separate from non-certified seafood.  Worldwide, more than 2,000 companies have obtained Chain of Custody certification.