Nov. 20, 2008 (Seattle, WA) — Bamboo Sushi in Portland, Oregon, which opened November 7, is the first independent restaurant in the United States to become certified for MSC Chain of Custody (1).  The MSC is the world’s leading certification and eco-labeling program for sustainable seafood. 

Under the MSC program, wild capture fisheries can become certified if they successfully complete assessment by an independent third party against a rigorous scientific standard for sustainability and environmental responsibility. Chain of Custody certification indicates adherence to strict traceability standards. Bamboo Sushi’s menu items from certified fisheries are indicated by the MSC’s distinctive blue oval logo.

Bamboo Sushi owner Kristofor Lofgren is passionate about environmental stewardship, and so he turned to the MSC to help him realize his commitment to sourcing only sustainable seafood. Lofgren hopes to serve as a model for other restaurants on how to source sustainably and educate diners about the impact of their choices on global fishing.

“I want to show first that it can be done, that restaurants can make the commitment to source only sustainable seafood,” said Lofgren. “I also want to show that it will contribute to business success. I believe people care about how their actions affect the environment and when they are made aware of options, they will support restaurants that demonstrate they are sourcing sustainably.”

“We’re thrilled with the commitment that Bamboo Sushi has made to sustainability and to using the MSC’s global certification program to source sustainable seafood,” said Brad Ack, MSC’s Regional Director for the Americas. “Sushi restaurants serve large quantities of fish and Bamboo Sushi is a market leader in giving sushi lovers the opportunity to have a great meal and to support sustainable fisheries at the same time, so they may continue to eat sushi forever.”

Bamboo Sushi offers a wide variety of delicacies featuring MSC-certified halibut, black cod, scallops, albacore and Alaska salmon. They plan to expand offerings bearing the MSC logo as more of their target species certified to the MSC standard become available. 

The restaurant is also partnered with several other leading marine conservation organizations, including Monterey Bay Aquarium, Blue Ocean Institute, Salmon Nation/Eco Trust, KidSafe Seafood, and the Seafood Choices Alliance. 

More on the restaurant and Bamboo Sushi’s menus can be found at www.bamboosushipdx.com. 

Photos are available upon request.

About MSC:
The MSC is an international non-profit organization that was set up in 1997 to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. The MSC runs the only widely recognized environmental certification and eco-labeling program for wild capture fisheries. It is the only seafood eco-label that is consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and UN FAO guidelines for fisheries certification. The FAO “Guidelines for the Eco-labeling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries” require that credible fishery certification and eco-labeling schemes include:

- Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilizing scientific evidence;
- Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
- Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

The MSC has offices in London, Seattle, Tokyo, Sydney, The Hague, Edinburgh and Berlin.  In total, more than 120 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 38 certified, 84 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment.  Together the fisheries record annual catches of more than 5 million tons of seafood.  Of fish for human consumption, they represent more than 42 percent of the world’s wild salmon catch, 40 percent of the world’s prime whitefish catch and 18 percent of the world’s lobster catch.  Worldwide, nearly 1,900 seafood products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label.  For more information, please visit www.msc.org.

(1) Xanterra, which operates food service in National Parks, became certified for MSC Chain of Custody in 2003