| For Immediate Release | Contact: | Lisa Stafford P.S. Communications 630-986-8749 |
Sarasota, Fla., April 21, 2009 -– It’s one thing for the United States, the wealthiest nation in the world, to pour money into being environmentally friendly and to tout these efforts in lavish Earth Day celebrations.
It’s another thing entirely when 5,000 poor children, some as young as 3, scoop up dark, damp soil and plant tree saplings to reverse brutal deforestation in Indonesia and Honduras, where the average worker earns less than $4,000 annually.
Indonesia and Honduras are unlikely birthplaces for progressive environmental programs designed to save the Earth while returning profit to villagers, but they are. In fact, in both countries, it’s one person making a difference one tree at a time–the true essence of Earth Day.
Regal Springs Tilapia, the world’s largest aquafarmer of tilapia, discovered Indonesia two decades ago to be favorable for farming the affordable whitefish so popular with Americans. It was here that the seeds were sown for the company’s progressive practice of returning profits to the villagers who farm and process the fish. It was also in Indonesia that villagers began learning for the first time about the importance of planting trees.
Regal Springs calls the innovative program “Fish for Trees,” and it aims to transition villagers from tree cutters to fish growers, all in an effort to save the environment. Israel Snir is general manager of AquaFinca, the Honduras subsidiary of Regal Springs. “This is the only example I’m familiar with where, instead of pouring millions into the pockets of officials and politicians in unsuccessful attempts to save the forests, the people themselves become the forest watchers,” Snir says. In 2008 alone, $500,000 was earned for village programs. The company expects that number to soon grow to more than $1,000,000.
Regal Springs employs 5,000 in Indonesia, Honduras and now Mexico, where it recently started aquafarming. Indonesia produces frozen tilapia; Honduras and Mexico supply fresh tilapia. Worldwide tilapia production is expected to swell to 3 million metric tons by 2010.
All in all, Indonesia has lost an estimated 72 percent of its original forest. Honduras has lost 37 percent of its forest since 1990, making it the country with the greatest percentage of forest loss in all of Latin America. Regal Springs has moved decisively to enact programs to diminish deforestation among the villagers.
One of its most sustainable acts includes annually investing a percentage of Regal Springs’ fingerlings, feed and tilapia cages into aquafarms for the local people. They in turn grow and sell the fish to Regal Springs and others in the community, thereby gaining a valuable source of income other than cutting trees and burning forests.
Social responsibility is critical to Regal Springs’ mission. As a result, Regal Springs has helped tens of thousands of people in Indonesia and Honduras by providing schools for employees, teaching them to read and write. Village children attend schools built by the company and are taught a curriculum in which they learn for the first time about environmentalism and how destroying trees damages their community and the Earth. The effects of this effort alone will be felt for generations.
Sustainability is a cornerstone of Regal Springs and the people who work there. Instead of the mission being about the fish, it’s about the people, too. “Sustainability is about managing the delicate balance between the social and economic needs of our communities and customers with the environmental requirements of the natural resources that provide us our revenues,” explains Mike Picchietti, president of Regal Springs TradingCompany. “We take sustainability very seriously. It’s our religion.” That’s why Regal Springs became a founding member of the World Wildlife Fund’s steering committee to draft standards for certifying tilapia aquaculture products.
Additionally, Regal Springs is a trendsetter for environmental standards. It practices vigorous quality control by analyzing its crop in on-site labs, feeds the tilapia organic grain and uses reprocessed fish oils for bio-diesel fuels to run company vehicles.
“It’s gratifying to be part of a company that takes its environmental and social responsibilities so seriously,” says Freek Huskens, who heads Regal Springs Indonesian operations. “We’re in these communities for the long term. Their successes–whether educationally, environmentally or socially–become our successes.”
Farm-raised tilapia, such as those grown by Regal Springs Tilapia, the largest producer of tilapia in the world, do not accumulate toxins because they are fed a controlled diet of grain and cereal. One way Regal Springs assures the highest quality is by growing tilapia in enclosures nestled in fresh-water lakes, free of pollutants frequently found in wild fish or those grown in shallow, murky ponds. Additionally, Regal Springs tilapia are not fed preservatives, antibiotics or growth hormones. Responsible fish farmers take advantage of the control and consistency that aquaculture affords, allowing them to manage every aspect of farming, from egg to plate.
Unfortunately, not every aquafarmer takes such care. The result is often fish farmed in waterways contaminated by industrial waste, sewage and agricultural runoff that includes pesticides. Fish absorb chemicals, such as mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), from these uninhabitable waters, which in turn can cause serious health risks. This is why Regal Springs partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to help set universal standards for tilapia farming through the Aquaculture Dialogues.
In January 2009, the World Wildlife Fund unveiled plans for the next step in tilapia regulation, the creation of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, a third-party group that will audit and certify fish farms that meet stringent requirements.
Until the Aquaculture Stewardship Council guidelines can be enacted worldwide, which is not expected for another two years, consumers need to be wise and purchase tilapia and other seafood produced only by fisheries committed to the industry’s best practices.