Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Unit of certification
25.
The 'unit of certification' is the fishery for which ecolabelling certification
is called for. The certification could encompass: the whole fishery, where a
fishery refers to the activity of one particular gear-type or method leading to
the harvest of one or more species; a sub-component of a fishery, for example
a national fleet fishing a shared stock; or several fisheries operating on the
same resources. The certification applies only to products derived from the
'stock under consideration' (see paragraph 30). In assessing compliance with
certification standards, the impacts on the 'stock under consideration' of all
the fisheries utilizing that stock or stocks over their entire area of distribution,
including all life stages
, are to be considered
.
3.3.5 Minimum substantive requirements and
criteria for ecolabels
This section of the guidelines sets out the minimum substantive requirements and
criteria for assessing whether a fishery can be certified and awarded an ecolabel. In
accordance with the guidance by the 1998 Technical Consultation, it keeps open the
option for ecolabelling schemes to apply additional or more stringent requirements
and criteria.
The drafting of this section was informed by the Code of Conduct for Responsible
Fisheries, the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the principles and criteria of the MSC as
well as those elaborated by the Nordic Technical Working Group on Fisheries Eco-
labelling Criteria (2000), a group set up by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2000.
Minimum requirements are specified for each of three areas: management sys-
tems, target stocks, and ecosystem considerations. This is in keeping with the
idea that both the process and the outcome of management need to be considered.
The three areas broadly correspond to those addressed in the three MSC prin-
ciples. The requirements and criteria exclude economic, social or safety-at-sea
considerations.
This section acknowledges that conventional stock assessment methods may not
be possible nor necessarily appropriate in all cases and that 'less elaborate' methods
may be used (paragraph 32a). However, attention is also drawn to the need to
consider the amount of uncertainty in the final outcome of the assessment and to
apply the precautionary approach accordingly. The section explicitly recognises the
value of traditional knowledge provided its validity can be objectively verified. The
inland fisheries experts felt the validity of 'best scientific evidence' also needed to
be objectively verified (FAO 2006).
There was considerable concern amongst some countries, especially some de-
veloping countries about the inclusion of 'Ecosystem considerations' in the min-
imum requirements. This arose from the knowledge that, in many countries, cur-
rent knowledge on ecosystems and ecosystem impacts is weak because of the
lack of data and research due to financial and human resources constraints. The
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