The FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) adopted international guidelines on the ecolabelling of marine fisheries products, aimed at promoting sustainable and ecologically responsible fisheries, at their meeting in Rome, 7-11 March.
The new FAO guidelines set out principles for ecolabelling of products from marine capture fisheries and specify the minimum requirements and criteria for assessing whether a fishery can be certified and an ecolabel awarded. These include requirements for transparent management systems, avoiding overfishing of stocks, and addressing impacts of the fishery on the ecosystem. Crucially, they specify that the precautionary principle be applied in managing fish stocks, such that “absence of adequate scientific information should not be used as a reason for postponing or failing to take conservation and management measures.”
The guidelines emphasise the need to ensure that ecolabels do not present trade barriers, particularly for developing nations. They recommend that financial and technical support is offered to poorer countries to enable them to implement ecolabelling schemes, and that the needs of small-scale fisheries be considered. Trade in fish has become an important source of revenue for developing nations, with net sales of US$17.7 billion.
Ecolabelling is generally a voluntary system aimed at encouraging sustainable use of resources by giving consumers a clear choice. For fish products, a distinctive logo or statement marks the product as having been harvested in compliance with conservation and sustainability standards. The first ecolabelling scheme to be applied to marine capture fisheries was established by Unilever and WWF in 1997, under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and now accounts for 4% of the world’s edible wild fish catch.
The MSC’s chief executive, Rupert Howes, welcomes the guidelines as providing “a benchmark to assess any new ecolabelling schemes” and “ensure that any ecolabels will be credible”. The FAO’s consultation established a “good framework” that represents a “remarkable leap forward for the cause of ecolabelling”, adds Dierk Peters, international marketing manager for Unilever’s sustainability initiatives. However, there is little empirical evidence that ecolabelling can achieve sustainable fisheries through market forces. The biggest ecosensitive markets are currently in Northern Europe and North America, but the greatest future demand for fish is likely to be in Asia, Latin America and Africa.