Holland America Certified for Responsible Fisheries
Carter Damaska | Alaska Business
Holland America’s business is putting passengers on the water, not pulling seafood out of it, yet the cruise line is the first to be certified by Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) for sustainability.
Alaska Seafood on the Menu
On any Alaska cruise, Holland America serves more than 2,000 pounds of salmon; 1,000 pounds of cod; 800 pounds of halibut; and 500 pounds of rockfish. Because the company serves only fresh, certified sustainable Alaska seafood with traceable origins on all Alaska voyages, RFM certified all six of the cruise line’s ships that sail to Alaska following an independent audit.
“Holland America Line has shared Alaska adventures with our guests for seventy-five years, and supporting sustainable fishing and local business is an important commitment for us,” says the cruise company’s president, Gus Antorcha.
RFM is a third-party certification program for wild-capture fisheries. The RFM label includes the seafood product’s origin and signifies a distinctive Chain of Custody program that assures buyers and guests that their seafood is legally harvested and responsibly managed. The Alaska RFM program was operated by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) until 2020, when it transferred to the nonprofit Certified Seafood Collective (CSC).
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“We applaud Holland America Line for their long-standing commitment to sustainable seafood and their hard work to become the first cruise line to offer RFM certified Alaska seafood,” says Tomi Marsh of Ketchikan, a seafood harvester and CSC board member. “Alaska fisheries are highly valued as an integral part of the culture of coastal communities. Thus, fisheries are carefully managed, including input by locals, with a priority for sustainability in a constantly changing ocean in order to ensure that these fisheries are available for the next generation.”
Holland America Line recently partnered with ASMI on a commitment to serving sustainably sourced Alaska seafood.
Additionally, Holland America Line rolled out new seafood dishes for the dining rooms of its ships Westerdam, Zuiderdam, Noordam, Eurodam, Koningsdam, and Nieuw Amsterdam. Chef Ethan Stowell and ASMI developed such recipes as a fried Alaska cod sandwich with malt vinegar aioli and savoy cabbage slaw; Alaskan salmon chop with cucumber, tomato, avocado, bacon, and green beans; and roasted fennel crusted Alaska halibut with artichokes and Taggiasca olives.
“We’ve pledged to buy and serve only local, sustainable, fresh seafood on Alaska voyages,” says Antorcha, “and RFM certification is a crucial step in the commitment to sustainability that we share with our guests and fishing families of Alaska.”
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