Market-Based Mechanisms – Improving Fisheries Management? - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 197

comply because it creates costs that other programmes do not have to bear, and it
also has the potential to damage the overall market if some labels are not based on
independent, science-based information.
Rising concern over the growing scale and impacts of recreational (sport) fish-
ing (McPhee et al . 2002) is also forcing change in that sector. In Australia, the
industry's peak body (RecFish Australia) has created an accreditation for fishing
tournaments (Anon 2006). Although it is a second-party system (see Chapter 1), its
creation is an acknowledgement that more needs to be done to manage recreational
fishing impacts, even though at present the accreditation system is limited to fishing
tournaments.

Aquaculture labels
Ecolabels for aquaculture products have been developed in a number of coun-
tries, primarily by organisations that have an involvement in organic farming. Pro-
grammes can be found in Germany (Naturland e.V - www.naturland.de), Australia
(National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, www.nasaa.com.au), Japan
(Alter Trade - www.altertrade.co.jp), New Zealand (Bio-Gro, www.bio-gro.co.nz),
and Switzerland (BIO-Suisse - www.bio-suisse.ch), amongst many others (and see
Chapters 1, 5 and 16). These programmes are part of a wide and well-organised net-
work of organisations that are well established because of their long involvement in
organic agriculture. Although the standards vary to some degree there is generally a
focus on seafood quality (especially contamination) and animal husbandry, as well
as the environmental impacts of farming. The focus on contamination and animal
husbandry arise directly out of the experience gained in land-based farming.
There are several systems specifically established to focus on aquaculture
sustainability issues such as Hong Kong Fish Farm Accreditation Scheme
(www.hkaffs.org), the SIGES system established by Salmon Chile (www.siges-
salmonchile.com) and the Aquaculture Certification Council (www.aquaculture-
certification.org), based in the United States (see Chapter 5). In addition, the Chilean
Government is planning to establish a certification system aimed at ensuring compli-
ance with environmental regulations for aquaculture producers (including salmon)
(A. Brown, personal communication). There is also considerable interest in Asia
in the establishment of systems for market purposes, and the FAO's regional office
in Bangkok is co-ordinating rounds of discussions (S. Funge-Smith, personal com-
munication)

9.6 Issues associated with seafood ecolabelling

Responses to the rise of seafood ecolabels have been mixed. Leadbitter et al. (2006)
reviews some of the commentary that accompanied the development of the MSC.
Additional commentary can be found in the following chapters, and in Allison