Over a dozen Canadian and U.S. conservation organizations yesterday released "Common Vision for Environmentally Sustainable Seafood," a plan for seafood companies to develop and implement a comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainable wild-caught and farmed seafood. The organizations have also joined to form the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions.

"Our Common Vision outlines an ambitious but realistic path toward sustainable seafood that businesses can follow to safeguard the future viability of their industry," said Mark Powell, v.p. for fish conservation at Washington-based Ocean Conservancy, one of the alliance groups, in a statement.

The plan lays out six key areas where companies can act to ensure a sustainable seafood supply and protect ocean environments: developing and implementing a comprehensive, corporate policy on sustainable seafood; collecting information to assess and monitor the environmental sustainability of seafood products; purchasing environmentally responsible seafood; publicizing information about their seafood products; educating their consumers, suppliers, employees, and other important stakeholders about environmentally responsible seafood; and taking part in and supporting policy and management changes that result in positive environmental outcomes in fisheries and aquaculture.

Grocers such as Ahold USA, Andronico's, MOM's - My Organic Market, Wal-Mart, Wegmans, and Whole Foods Market have already come out in support of the plan, in addition to producers including Albion Fisheries, Central Coast Fisheries, and RM Seafood.

For a copy of the Common Vision, go to www.solutionsforseafood.org.

Additional organizations involved in creating the plan were Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, David Suzuki Foundation, Ecology Action Centre, Environmental Defense Fund, FishChoice, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Natural Resources Defense Council, New England Aquarium, Sierra Club British Columbia, World Wildlife Fund - U.S., FishWise, Living Oceans Society, and Blue Ocean Institute.