Developing an International Standard for the Trade in Live Reef Food Fish - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 168

can be a useful mechanism in supporting industry change, voluntary standards alone
will usually lack the necessary potency to encourage the adoption of changing be-
haviour in order to effect lasting industry transformation. Consequently, the use
of voluntary certification as a market-based solution to specific environmental and
social problems in the LRFFT will need to be carefully considered. And further,
not all problems can be adequately tackled using certification as the main tool.
In contrast to a 'certify at all costs' approach, we consider that a staged assess-
ment of the suitability of the industry for certification, and of market acceptance for
certified product, are essential precursors to any programme to introduce certifica-
tion to the LRFFT. The remainder of this chapter describes the work undertaken
to develop a credible and robust standard of best practice for the LRFFT through a
transparent and international multi-stakeholder consultation process, and presents a
possible framework for moving from voluntary standard to a prototype certification
scheme.

8.4 Developing the international standard

8.4.1 Background
In February 2001, a regional workshop involving the major NGOs involved with the
LRFFT (The Nature Conservancy (TNC), International Marinelife Alliance (IMA)
and the World Resources Institute (WRI)) was convened to develop a collaborative
strategy to address the threats posed by the LRFFT in the Asia-Pacific region
(Graham et al . 2001). A key output from that workshop was a recommendation
emphasising the importance of developing a set of industry 'best-practice standards'
for the LRFFT covering the chain of custody from reef to primary consumer - the
importer, wholesaler and restaurateur or restaurant patron. In response, a project
team drawn from TNC, the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC), and IMA was formed
to help initiate a project to develop these industry standards. The project aim was
to bring together stakeholders to determine the best practices needed to enable
the LRFFT to move towards becoming a more sustainable, higher-value industry
capable of improving the livelihoods of local fishers, providing a stable and healthy
supply of fish to the market, and protecting coral reef habitats that are the basis for
productive reef fisheries. The project focused on developing a credible and robust
standard for the LRFFT through a transparent and international multi-stakeholder
consultation process. The standard addressed both the wild capture and aquaculture
of LRFF as well as the distribution and trading of these fish, and included standards
and practices relating to each aspect of the industry, from assessing reefs and target
reef fish populations to dealing with human health and safety concerns.
Prior to commencing the drafting of the Standard, a number of preliminary
research tasks were undertaken by representatives of the project team organisations
(the Key Partner Group) to facilitate the process, including: