FAO Guidelines for Ecolabelling in Wild-Capture Fisheries - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 71

inclusion of ecosystem considerations could therefore become an effective barrier
to obtaining an ecolabel and consequently a barrier to trade. This section, within
the core of the guidelines, therefore represents a reasonable compromise between
the position of some countries seeking more stringent requirements and criteria
and others that wished to see ecosystem considerations entirely omitted from the
guidelines.
In reference to the modifications to this section, shown in bold, the inland fisheries
expert group notes that enhanced fisheries may involve a number of techniques,
some of which are permanent or nearly so, e.g. species introductions and habitat
modification, and some of which could be temporary. The sustainability of the
target species, therefore, could depend on the maintenance of the enhancements. In
the special case of culture-based fisheries, where the fishery is solely maintained
by stocking from aquaculture facilities, the experts concluded that sustainability of
the target species would not be the focus of an ecolabelling programme. Instead,
sustainability would relate primarily to assuring optimal production in the natural
ecosystem and management in a manner to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem
functions (FAO 2006).

Introduction
26. The following sets forth the minimum substantive requirements and crite-

ria for assessing whether a fishery can be certified and an ecolabel awarded
to a fishery. Ecolabelling schemes may apply additional or more stringent
requirements and criteria related to sustainable use of the resources. The
requirements and criteria presented below are to be based on and inter-
preted in accordance with the current suite of agreed international instruments
including the 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the Convention
on Biodiversity, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands , as well as provisions
of relevance for the management of inland capture fisheries contained in
the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1995 UN Fish Stocks
Agreement.

27. Requirements are specified for each of three areas: management systems, the

stock or stocks for which certification is being sought (subsequently referred
to as 'stock under consideration'), and consideration of serious impacts of the
fishery on the ecosystem including stock enhancement activities. Criteria and
related measurable performance indicators and a corresponding monitoring
system should be established in order to assess the conformity of the fishery
concerned with the requirements and the criteria of the ecolabelling scheme. In
developing and applying the criteria and assessing the conformity of the fishery
with the standard of certification, the views and opinions of States, RFBs and
FAO should be fully considered.

Management systems
28. Requirement: The fishery is conducted under a management system which is

based upon good practice and that ensures the satisfaction of the requirements
and criteria described in Paragraph 29. The management system and the fishery