Proactive thinking is the key to the universal success of this endeavour. However, as the tide in Europe and elsewhere turns in favour of a sustainable fishery, it is becoming crystal clear that all business with a vested interest in the viability and longevity of marine resources should consider certification if they are to stay one step ahead of the wave. For example, the world's primary fish marketing companies, UNILEVER, whose products include Birds Eye in the UK and Gorton's in the US, has indicated that by the year 2005 all of their fish products will be sourced only through certified operations.

Sainsbury's Stores is another prominent player in the United Kingdom. With a product line featuring over 250 varieties of fresh, frozen and canned seafood, producing annual sales of over $500 million dollars, it has recognized the corporate need, and inherent value, of utilizing MSC certified products and services. Within the next year, it plans to add other retail products as a means of communicating the message to customers that there is corporate support for good fisheries' practices and that they in turn can make beneficial and conscious purchase decisions by buying products with the MSC logo.

Boston based Legal Seafoods has 25 locations dotting the Eastern Seaboard. Stretching from Massachusetts to Florida, the company has a vested interest in maintaining the quality and longevity of its fish supply. In business for 50 years, Legal's President, Roger Berkowitz has fully embraced this initiative, noting that "The Marine Stewardship Council has the reputation to lend credibility to the marketplace that will increase consumer confidence that something is being done to promote the conservation of our fisheries."

With industry and grassroots support beginning to emerge in European markets, it is only a matter of time until the MSC brand is understood, respected and demanded in our markets. The time for change has arrived.

At Tavel, we recognize and understand the importance and value of integrity and practice, in respect to the management and sustainability of our global fisheries.

With experience comes knowledge. We know what is at stake! We are cognizant of the immeasurable worth of fish in the food chain, and realize the impact this resource has on employment, marine-based business and the ecology. This constitutes the moral, economic and social rationale for our decision to coalesce with, and therefore work within the parameters of the Marine Stewardship Council's vision.

With years of experience in areas such as final product inspections, dockside monitoring, environmental monitoring and fisheries surveillance, our capacity and willingness to become an independent certifier carrying out the same assessments as those applied to us is a progressive and logical step in our corporate evolution. Moreover, it is a testament to our faith in the merits of a solution that circumscribes widespread certification and vigilant conformity.