Market-Based Mechanisms – Improving Fisheries Management? - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 203

tighter laws and enforcement, clearer allocation of rights, and better education and
training, amongst many others. The involvement of private sector players in the
marketplace has grown rapidly in the past 10 years and reflects the worldwide trend
to providing better incentives for those that seek long-term sustainability in a variety
of human endeavours that affect the environment.
A number of mechanisms for facilitating private sector involvement in the seafood
marketplace have evolved, and they range from traditional advocacy by NGOs, the
distribution of seafood advisory cards, sustainable seafood procurement policies by
retailers and ecolabelling. There are no independent mechanisms for evaluating the
success or otherwise of the various programmes within each of these categories, and
it is difficult to provide any clear recommendations for the best pathway forward.
However, there are some important criteria that can be derived from the FAO's
guidelines for seafood ecolabelling that could be more generally applied. Expec-
tations about transparency, accountability and science-based decision making in
market-based systems are relevant to card programmes as well as all other ap-
proaches. Perhaps most importantly, as the various systems are implemented in the
marketplace, there is a need for an evaluation mechanism to ensure that a continued
trajectory towards sustainable use is maintained and that the potential for unintended
negative impacts on well-intentioned players in the fishing industry is minimised.
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