15 SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY VALUE CREATION AND QUALITY SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES SUPPORTING OUR TEAM MEMBERS For West Coast trawl fisheries, independent observers are mandated to work onboard vessels, including Pacific Seafood vessels, as well as our fishing partners, to monitor harvest. Those observers report back to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) who estimate bycatch, collect biological samples, and monitor fishing activity and gear performance. This data is utilized by biologists, stakeholders, advisors, and fisheries’ managers to determine the health and status of the fisheries and to set sustainable annual catch limits. Pacific Seafood uses an array of excluder devices, both required and chosen by our company to minimize the impact of removing untargeted species from the ocean. As part of our efforts to prevent entanglements in Dungeness crab fishing gear, Pacific Seafood participates in the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group. This partnership allows us to provide and receive guidance from marine experts to avoid and minimize entanglements. Although not required by law, Pacific Seafood’s whiting trawl net utilizes a special escape panel to prevent salmon bycatch. These escape panels are designed to allow salmon to escape based on their natural behavior to swim upwards. Pacific Seafood’s Coldwater shrimp vessels voluntarily use T90 mesh net orientations where the mesh is turned 90 degrees. These nets are designed to reduce the bycatch of baby shrimp. Unlike traditional-style diamond mesh shrimp nets that pull closed and reduce the ability of small, baby shrimp to escape, T90 mesh nets do not pull closed allowing baby shrimp to swim free. Similarly, our shrimp boat partners along the Gulf of Mexico use mandatory Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) that allow turtles to escape from trawl fishing gear. These metal and mesh devices fit inside a trawl net and provide an escape hole or “flap” for turtles and larger sea creatures to escape from. Bycatch Reduction Measures Pacific Seafood is dedicated to preventing bycatch, the accidental capture of species not being harvested. Pacific Seafood utilizes best practices from our sustainability partners, excluder device technology, and specialty netting to avoid bycatch. Independent Observers Excluder Devices Entanglement Prevention Salmon Excluder Devices T90 Nets Sea Turtle Excluder Devices
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