Fisheries Certification Programs

Purpose and Scope of Certification Programs Standards

The sets of standards used by fisheries certification programs may emphasize single issues or a combination of concerns. Standards frequently, but not always, address food safety and quality. Some of the standards developed by the certification program Naturland, for example, require that certified products have not been contaminated with environmental pollutants, do not employ genetically modified organisms or their derivatives, and do not come into contact with harmful contaminants during storage. Many certification programs design standards that are used to evaluate fisheries’ effects on the environment or environmental sustainability. Friend of the Sea (FOS) and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) are certification programs that focus exclusively on environmental concerns. MSC derives its environmental standards from three primary principles related to (1) the sustainability of the fishery, (2) the effects of the fishery on the surrounding habitat and ecosystem, and (3) the appropriateness and efficacy of the fisheries management system. FOS bases its certification on the standards laid out by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products From Marine Capture Fisheries, which addresses similar issues related to levels of fish stock exploitation, management measures, and effects on the habitat and ecosystem. Although not as common, some certification programs take into consideration social and ethical issues related to fisheries production. Naturland’s social responsibility standards, for example, address issues of basic human rights and freedoms, discrimination, child labor, workers’ rights to form and access trade associations and unions, and employee health and safety.

Fisheries certification programs can also be differentiated by the scope of their standards. Programs may operate within single countries or regions, or they may be global in scope. As the contributions of aquaculture to global seafood production increase, certification programs increasingly include standards that apply to aquaculture as well as to wild-caught fisheries. Many certification programs have standards that are applicable to any species or type of fishery, while others, particularly those specializing in aquaculture certification, focus on particular species or groups of species.

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