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C  ER T IF IED FI SHERIE S P  RO D U C T S

D8

What

What Is It?

BENCHMARK

At least two fisheries or marine product

At

Fisheries certification encompasses a variety of eco-

certification or eco-labeling plans that generally serve

exports (potentially including farmed

to distinguish products that have been produced in

shrimp)

shrimp) are eco-certified.

accordance with certain environmental standards

TA R G E T

designed to achieve both sustainable resources and

a sustainable ecosystem. In some cases, certification

30% - 50% of total marine product

30%

also requires that production techniques minimize

exports are eco-certified.

secondary environmental impacts.

RED FL AG

One of the most well-known organizations in marine

No fisheries or marine product

product certification, the Marine Stewardship Council

exports can meet the criteria for eco-

exports

(MSC), defines a certified fishery as: "Fisheries that

certification.

certi

achieve  certification  demonstrate  management

operations that maintain healthy populations of

fishing practices have penetrated the fishing industry

targeted species, protect the integrity of ecosystems,

as a whole. Species abundance data can be used to

and balance biological, social and commercial

evaluate the success of certified sustainable fisheries

interests26." Certified fisheries are entitled to use

management programs in maintaining the overall

the distinguishing MSC logo for identification in the

viability of species populations.

marketplace and are well poised to meet the growing

demand for sustainable seafood.

Certification or eco-labeling also provides a venue

for which proper documentation of harvesting

This indicator is applied to economically valuable

regimes and actual extraction data substantiates the

marine species in danger of reaching critically

certification process. The underlying assumption here

low population densities due to fishing pressure.

is that the higher the percentage of certified fisheries

Assuming rigor in testing and certification standards,

products, the more sustainable the fisheries sector

this indicator is a measure of how much of the total

is over the long term. However, it must be noted that

marine harvest on the market is taken in a sustainable

some uncertified operations may, in fact, be employing

manner.

sustainable fisheries practices but simply have not

Why Do We Measure It?

undergone the certification process.

How Do We Measure It?

Long-term  resource  sustainability  is  of  great

concern to producers and consumers alike. In many

At this time, the major demand for certified marine

cases, market demand for marine resources has

products resides in the international markets of the

demonstrated that consumers are willing to pay more

United States and Europe, where consumers can

for the assurance that the goods they are consuming

afford the higher price of certified seafood products.

are harvested in a way that ensures the long-term

However, in the MAR, sustainable seafood options

viability of the resource.

can be offered to tourists who, over time, can create

a local demand for certified seafood. This indicator

There are several marine product certification

is measured by both the number of fisheries in the

programs with strict standards that producers must

region that become certified (e.g., lobster in Sian

meet in order to receive a seal of approval26,27. Eco-

Ka'an, conch in Belize) and as the ratio of exported

labels enable consumers to identify seafood that has

certified marine products to the total volume of

come from a sustainable source. Although the methods

exported marine products.

may differ, the end goal of resource sustainability and

minimal environmental damage remains a common

The certification agency (e.g., Marine Stewardship

thread across the various certification mechanisms.

Council or MSC) keeps track of the volume of

certified production, which can then be compared

The volume of certified fisheries products, expressed

to governmental or FAO records of total production.

as a percentage of all production, therefore, can be

National export records can be used to calculate

used as an indicator of the extent to which sustainable

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