This policy should be read in conjunction with the Kaytrad document on the Laws and Regulations governing the Fishing Industry in South Africa.

Our primary business is in seafood. We support global policies and management initiatives that ensure the long-term sustainability of these resources. Kaytrad is committed to assist in leading the way to preserve the world’s marine resources for future generations.

Kaytrad promotes the following principles:

• To work with supply partners, and maintain an open dialogue with:

  • Environmental organisations;

  • The fishing industry representative bodies;

  • Government agencies and regulators;

  • The scientific communities

• To continuously improve the supply of sustainable seafood products to our customers.

• To ensure that all seafood products are sourced from responsibly managed fisheries.

• Where fishing practices and management will ensure fish stocks and marine ecosystems are maintained and protected for future generations.

• To work closely with seafood suppliers, to obtain detailed traceability information that is supplied to customers:

  • Information for wild capture products include species name, country - of origin, catch region, fishery name, and gear type

  • Information for farmed / aquaculture products includes species name, country of origin, and production method used.

• Our fish is, wherever possible, all wild-caught seafood products certified to schemes that comply with the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, CITES, MSC, and other relevant RFMO organisations.

• We recognise that certification is a timely and costly process, and we encourage cooperation with suppliers and applicable regulatory bodies in order to facilitate achieving this goal.

• We will further endeavour to assist with protecting species identified as being at risk by avoiding the procurement of any supplies from illegal, unregulated, and undocumented fisheries (IUU) – and notifying the relevant authorities when we believe fish is being offered from an IUU source. We fully support the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) in this regard, and welcome the various measures that they have introduced, and will be looking to partner with them further in this regard;

• We will encourage all our partners (both suppliers and buyers) to ensure that fresh and pre-packed fish is labelled correctly, with key information such as catch method, species name, and area of catch, to enable customers to have confidence in making informed choices.

• To limit the risk of seafood product substitution in skinless fish fillets, we will encourage members to introduce a further monitoring measure with random DNA sampling of imported products, to verify the labelling details.

• Kaytrad is committed to promoting sustainable seafood options as a fundamental business strategy. Sustainability requires commitment from all stakeholders in the supply chain, to ensure that there is continuous development and improvement, therefore enabling both sustainability of the resource as well as economic sustainability of the procurement of seafood products – whether this be for import and/or export.

OUR MODUS OPERANDI

How should an assessment take place? - A Scientific Approach We realize that science is at the key of any approach to fisheries management and independent, science-based assessments of stocks are a crucial component in ensuring the sourcing of sustainable seafood. Kaytrad – wherever possible - engages with third party experts to assess the various fisheries - to determine if they are being managed in a sustainable manner. We believe that assessments must be based on the scientific stock assessments completed by various national and international research bodies and that they should encompass a number of criteria including:

• Assessment of the target stock status.

• Assessment of the impact on non-target stocks and related eco-systems.

• Review of ongoing fisheries management platforms currently in place.

• Review of enforcement practices and compliance measures.

• Development of recommendations to improve fishery management practices both locally in Southern Africa and with our suppliers overseas.