Fortune Fish & Gourmet
The Seafood & Gourmet Specialists
Our Commitments
Fortune Fish & Gourmet Sustainable Seafood Policy
Fortune International Responsible Sourcing Policy
November 15, 2024
Fortune International recognizes that sustainable production of the seafood we sell is a business imperative. Therefore, we strive to source seafood that is produced responsibly, taking into account production’s impact on the environment, future health of fisheries and farms, and the communities of people who depend on it.
Policy Scope
The scope of our policy includes all our products that are 100% seafood. Our policy does not yet include seafood items that have value- added ingredients.
Our Commitment
Using GDST compliant systems and practices, Fortune collects data on the fisheries and fish farms that supply our seafood products. We use this data to assess our sources against important sustainability criteria, outlined below. Starting with 2025, we publicly report on how our seafood performs against these criteria and how we are contributing to improvements in fisheries and farms that don’t yet meet these criteria.
Sustainability Criteria
Fisheries and farms that meet any of the following criteria qualify as responsibly harvested:
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Certified by a Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) benchmarked certification scheme or
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Engaged in a credible and publicly reported Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) or Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) or
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Scores 6 or above on all categories in FishSource or
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Rated Best Choice or Good Alternative by Seafood Watch or
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Harvested by a US domestic fishery with a fishery management plan
More on Fortune International’s Sustainability Philosophy and Approach
Fortune recognizes that there are reputable current standards in the seafood industry that have been developed to certify or rate products as sustainable. While we do consider the standards favorably in our sourcing decisions, Fortune Fish does not require all our products to be certified and/or rated “sustainable.” We understand that certification can be expensive and not accessible to everyone. We respect and support domestic and global small-scale producers. We do seek to ensure that the products we sell meet are benchmarked for food safety, quality and sustainability evaluating by the criteria below.
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Level of traceability of the product
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Fishery management and harvest strategies
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Science-based stock assessment or other catch regulations
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Level of recovery plan for a rebuilding fishery
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Impacts of fishing gear on habitat and other species
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Degree of IUU challenges in the fishery
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Impact of farming on the environment
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Actions being taken to correct for environmental impacts of the fishery or farm
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Measures in place to ensure social compliance/ workers’ rights
If a seafood product does not meet our benchmark for sustainability, Fortune Fish & Gourmet’s approach is to continue sourcing from those fisheries and farms and to use our leverage as buyers to encourage improvements that drive sustainability. These are called Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) and Aquaculture Improvement Projects (AIPs). This approach ultimately leads to increased supply of sustainable seafood worldwide as we actively work with our supply chain to improve fisheries and fish farming impacts.
Fortune Fish supports FIPs and AIPs that demonstrate progress and utilizes SFP's FIP Progress Ratings to monitor progress of FIPs. Fortune also strongly encourages FIPs to publicly report on Fisheryprogress.org.
Partnering is critical to the seafood sustainability journey. It is essential that Fortune’s suppliers of seafood demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, improvement, and transparency to work with Fortune Fish & Gourmet.
Advancement in seafood sustainability involves many stakeholders including conservation groups, fishers, fish farmers, wholesalers, distributors, and industry groups all working together to address issues. Fortune leads through collaborations with all stakeholders to advance the sustainability of our seafood products. Fortune’s key NGO and pre-competitive partnerships include being members of Sea Pact, the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solution, the Global Tuna Alliance, the National Fisheries Institute and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
It is imperative that we work collaboratively with our suppliers to address and uphold human rights as outlined in the National Fisheries Institute Seafood Industry Labor Principles and in Fortune’s Supplier Code of Conduct.
Educating Fortune Fish & Gourmet employees and our customers about the sustainability of the seafood products we sell and all policies. Fortune Fish & Gourmet shares the information collected on our seafood products through data management dashboards with our sales staff and incorporates the sustainability assessment into existing employee training so they fully understand the sustainability of the seafood products Fortune Fish is selling and can speak confidently with our customers about the issues. Fortune Fish & Gourmet staff complete an annual training on responsible sourcing, ASC & MSC certification and Fortune’s sustainability vision and goals.
While our responsible practices require a great deal of time and effort, they result in better quality products while sustaining the lives, livelihoods and traditions of the farmers, fishermen and communities with whom we do business.
These policies and commitments have been communicated to all Fortune International entities. Our goal is to have all Fortune International companies fully compliant by 2026. Any new acquisitions will have one year to become compliant from onboarding.
