Holland America Line Introduces Sustainable Seafood

by  Carolyn Balk | Apr 28, 2011
Holland America's MS Ryndam
Holland America's MS Ryndam / Photo courtesy of the cruise line

In honor of Earth Day this past April 22, Holland America Line unveiled their new environmentally sustainable seafood program, an extension of their 3-year-long environmental conservation project dubbed “Our Marvelous Oceans.” The sustainability program is the cruise line's way of ensuring responsibility for the health of the seas they sail upon. Partnered with Marine Conservation Institute, a Washington-based aquatic environmental group, Holland America's new strides help secure an onboard seafood selection that is more environmentally conscious. The company predicts that the new menu will satisfy their customers by offering the same quality gourmet fish, while allowing those fish species to be present and prolific in their biologically natural environment.

Marine Conservation International evaluates each seafood item to determine its general abundance, how the fishery is managed, and what harmful effects fishing and farming have generated to the contiguous oceanic ecosystem. After these three factors have been evaluated, Holland America makes a more eco-conscience choice as to what seafood from what fishery the cruise line will serve onboard. The sustainability program starts with Holland America’s 2011 Alaska and Europe cruises, while it will spread throughout the 15-ship fleet by next year. The Marine Conservation Institute hopes that Holland America will become a role model for other cruise lines to follow.

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