The cruise lines have long made an effort to become more eco-friendly, and in honor of the recent 40th annual Earth Day, Holland America Line has announced the roll out of its new sustainable seafood program. This new program showcases environmentally responsible purchasing practices and sustainable seafood.
The line has partnered with the Marine Conservation Institute to create seafood menus that help promote the continued availability of fish species that are essential to a biologically diverse marine environment. According to the line, their selection process is as follows:
“To determine the sustainability of a particular seafood item, Holland America Line and Marine Conservation Institute referred to well-established seafood ratings/rankings — from Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, Blue Ocean Institute Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood, World Wildlife Fund Sustainable Seafood Guides, Environmental Defense Fund Seafood Selector and others. Marine Conservation Institute then applied their professional judgment to assess the sustainability of the selection. Each seafood item is evaluated for its abundance, how well the fishery is managed and what damage is done to the surrounding marine ecosystem through catching or farming the seafood. The sustainability program places particular emphasis on maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems.”
This program will begin with Holland America’s 2011 Alaska and Europe cruises — extending worldwide across the 15-ship fleet over the next year.
This sustainability continues the “Our Marvelous Oceans,” program, a three-year endeavor by the two partners, launched in 2010. Features of this program includes guest and staff education, support for marine conservation biology research, and annual grants made to graduate students and young scientists working in historical marine ecology.
Heidi, Editor-In-Chief
