Tim Fitzgerald joined American Seafoods as chief sustainability officer in 2021. Prior to joining American Seafoods, Tim worked for nearly two decades at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where he led the organisation’s work with investors and industry to improve the sustainability of global fisheries and aquaculture.
SeafoodSource spoke with Fitzgerald about how American Seafoods leverages sustainable fisheries and responsible practices to create value for the company and its customers.
SeafoodSource: Can you provide an overview of American Seafoods’ operations – where you fish, what species, the number of boats you have, processing capabilities, etc.?
Fitzgerald: American Seafoods owns seven catcher processor vessels that operate in the Alaska Bering Sea pollock fishery and the Pacific hake fishery. We process and freeze our catch at sea within minutes of coming onboard and have a logistics network that distributes our products to hubs in North America, Europe, and Asia. Our primary production is for fillet blocks and surimi, but our factories are optimized for 100 percent utilization – meaning we also produce large volumes of high-quality fishmeal and fish oil from processing byproducts. Our fish is a key ingredient in thousands of products from McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwiches and California rolls to premium pet food and everything in between.
SeafoodSource: With that scope of operations and harvesting activities, what are the sustainability issues that are priorities for American Seafoods?
Fitzgerald: We are fortunate to operate exclusively in two of the world’s most sustainable fisheries. Not only are these highly productive ecosystems, but we also benefit from an adaptive science-based management system with a decades-long track record of excellence. That allows us to invest in things like gear innovation, reducing incidental catch, and maximizing operational efficiency. In short, our goal is to catch our quota as quickly, safely, and sustainably as possible.
SeafoodSource: What types of sustainability issues, data collection, and reporting requirements are coming from government regulation and which are coming from buyer procurement policies?
Fitzgerald: I think it’s safe to say that we are experiencing more regulatory compliance and reporting burden than ever before. Off the top of my head, I’d say we are governed by at least 10 federal agencies and regulatory bodies on everything from fisheries management and maritime operations to worker safety and food quality.
Read the full interview here.
