A very serious issue that has been brewing in the world of seafood and sustainability for the past two decades is that of third party certification.
The simple fact is that most countries have abysmal track records at guaranteeing the species, or the source, let alone the safety, of where the seafood we consume comes from, and how it is handled and how safe it is to consume.
If you think I am overstating the problem just click on this link
( http://wapo.st/1tpcDmw ) and read a recent article in the Washington Post on where our shrimp comes from and what species we believe consume here in the US.
And if you consider that just within the USA we imported in 2014 over 1.1 billion pounds of shrimp worth about 6.1 billion US dollars, then you can see the potential magnitude of the risks with not knowing where your shrimp/seafood is coming from, what species we are consuming, and how it is being processed and handled.
In any case if you read the paragraphs below which came from the FAO Marine and Aquaculture Statistics for 2014 you can see why I have been arguing that an impartial and legitimate third party label for organic and sustainable seafood is long overdue.
The second paragraph is the most interesting to me because I have negative feelings about all private third party labeling schemes, be they industry driven or those put forth by NGO's.
The second paragraph with FAO/COFI stewardship also is the closest to the position advocated since 2004 by our foundation "IFCNR" (The International Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources).
To restate the obvious I think private third party labeling must be eliminated simply because even the best of private third party labeling schemes are fraught with self interest, usually driven by monetary concerns, and frankly, have no uniform standards that can protect the consumer or the oceans. It appears that it may be time for IFCNR to re-engage in the dialogue on this issue.
"An important governance issue that remains to the fore in aquaculture debates is aquaculture certification. Public concerns have been expressed that some forms of aquaculture are neither environmentally sustainable nor socially equitable, and that they yield unsafe products for consumers. In response, many countries have put in place policies and regulations governing environmental stability and requiring aquaculture producers to comply with more stringent environmental mitigation and protection measures. Food safety standards have been raised.
Nevertheless, interest in the certification of aquaculture production systems, practices, processes and products is increasing. The motives are to address environmental and consumer concerns and secure better market access.
In response, aquaculture certification schemes have been developed and implemented at the international and national level. Certification of aquaculture farms, inputs, marketing and processing is under way, both individually and collectively.
A good example is the application of the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices to certified processing plants all over the world such as in Australia, Bangladesh, Belize, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico,
New Zealand, Norway, Thailand, the United States of America, and Vietnam.
The aim is to prove to the public that aquaculture production systems and processes are not sources of pollution, disease vehicles, threats to the environment or socially irresponsible. Some countries are also introducing state-mediated certification procedures to assure consumers as to the safety of the products they eat.
Concerned by the confusion and unnecessary cost of the multiplicity of certification schemes and accreditation bodies, the international community requested that FAO lead the preparation of international aquaculture certification guidelines.
Thus, FAO developed the technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification, which were approved by the COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture in 2010.
Noting the absence of a clear international reference framework for the implementation of the minimum criteria set forth in the technical Guidelines, FAO Members expressed the need for a “conformity assessment framework for aquaculture certification guidelines”, the fear was that, in the absence of such an instrument containing appropriate standards for their implementation, certification systems could become unjustified barriers to trade.
Hence, FAO developed the Evaluation Framework for Assessing Conformity of Public and Private Certification Schemes with the FAO technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification. the COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture approved this framework in October 2013. However, an outstanding issue with respect to aquaculture certification is its capacity for development on aquaculture certification in developing countries."
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