Ensuring certified sustainable seafood has been one of the main concerns of an ever-increasing number of industry organizations and regulatory bodies.
Not to anyone’s surprise, since the research shows that the global catch of seafood has reached over 180 million tons annually.
The high demand for seafood hasn’t come without consequences. Recently, the seafood industry has been facing a number of challenges including
- Overfishing
- Fish fraud
- Human trafficking
- Pirate fishing
- Mislabeling, etc.
Nonetheless, there is still an open question regarding the future of Certified Sustainable Seafood products as well as the future of quality assurance of these products.
In this article, we will go through the 12 most recognized standards setting up practices that help ensure seafood sustainability and see how they correlate with enhanced demand for traceability in the seafood sector.
What Is Sustainable Seafood Certification And Why Is It Important?
Before we look at the bodies working toward ensuring more sustainable seafood practices, let’s first look at why there is an increased need for seafood sustainability.
According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, over 85% of fish stocks are either overfished or fully exploited.
Moreover, a 2018 study has shown that fish production has reached an all-time high, with almost 180 million tonnes used as food supply to billions of people.
The increased demand has thus resulted in a number of issues, from overfishing to landscape destruction, and human labour.
Besides the above-mentioned, there is yet another outcome due to the lack of certified sustainable seafood – consumer distrust.
Consumers have increasingly been asking for more information on the origins, whereabouts and legality of seafood products. And this is one of the main reasons for the awaited seafood certification explosion.
Who Provides Certified Sustainable Seafood?
By definition, sustainable seafood is caught in a way that does not endanger ecosystems of fish stocks ensuring that future needs will be met.
Assumably, all of the issues the seafood industry is facing at the moment are far from claiming that the current seafood practices are sustainable and regulated.
Therefore, to control and ensure the sustainable continuation of seafood production, the organizations have implemented a set of norms for both wild-caught and aquaculture producers.
Hence, here is an exhaustive list of the organizations and standard bodies currently working on helping companies ensure sustainable seafood products and practices.
Disclaimer: The following list includes both the certification organizations and organizations setting up standards as guides for companies working on improving their sustainability practices.
For more info: Friend of The Sea