The Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) marks five years of leading this month after several years of progress in environmental responsibility.
They are the creators of the SSP qualification, one of the most demanding protocols for shrimp production. It establishes that all shrimp farms must have the ASC certification, and are subject to several verifications during each production cycle. The main objective is to guarantee the zero use of antibiotics, the neutral impact on water, and the complete traceability of the product.
SSP always collaborates with experts in the different areas covered by its projects. For instance, this certification was developed under the guidance of SSP's Advisory Board, formed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC); and hand in hand with the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certification (ICONTEC)
Besides they are also working on the human footprint. As explained by the process manager, María Fernanda Vilches, they are presently working on carbon footprint measurement led by IDH. "We want to identify the hot spots in shrimp production and work on solutions to reduce their impact".
"When we established SSP five years ago, we wanted to drive change globally," explained SSP Director Pamela Nath. "We consider SSP as an innovation lab where we tackle specific challenges, learn how to address them, and share our experience. We set the bar high for ourselves to demonstrate by example and to lead these changes". This is their race to the top.
SSP's philosophy is that for achieving the highest levels of environmental and social performance, it is necessary to include small and medium-sized producers. From their point of view, supporting and helping the producers in the process makes them more competitive internationally. Thus, with its Advisory Board, it has developed the Scale Up program to implement improvement projects.
"SSP considers that a key factor that cannot be excluded from the process if the global industry is to be transformed is the consumer." For SSP information about products is truly important, because many times consumers do not know what production practices are behind what they buy.
Moreover, they are always on track with technology to support their eco-friendly protocols. They are currently working on a pioneering project in the aquaculture industry based on Blockchain technology for its products. The idea is to show all information about the shrimp product, from their harvest to the plate. Thus, this practice ensures that customers receive transparent data on the origin and quality simply by scanning a QR code.
The Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) started 5 years ago in Ecuador. SSP is a group of major shrimp producers who recognized the need for more sustainable practices in the global shrimp industry. The SSP is committed to producing high-quality shrimp while implementing best practices for sustainability.
Their efforts have been recognized by the Sustainable Seafood Funders Group. The goal of pre-competitive collaborations like the SSP is to create a space where competitors in the seafood industry can work together to improve sustainability practices and address common challenges. This helps to create a more sustainable and equitable seafood industry overall.