Measuring the Success of Seafood Ecolabelling - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 221

the seafood marketplace. A standard that purports to relate to the sustainability
of a fishery, but that is developed and verified by the industry concerned, or by
any organisation that has a vested interest in increased sales (such as a seafood
wholesaler, or even in some cases a government regulatory agency) is clearly likely
to have a strong motivational bias. Only fully independent third-party certification
systems can avoid most of the risks of such bias.
Standards that have only limited scope are usually conceived and applied to rein-
force the prospect of success through achieving the possible, rather than risking fail-
ure through attempting the difficult. Ultimately, standards that are of limited scope
are likely to contribute little to increasing sustainability in fisheries or aquaculture
systems, and they will have only limited medium-term acceptance by consumers.
Indeed, their main value may lie in pointing to deficiencies in certification systems,
leading eventually to higher-quality outcomes through progressive improvements
of the standards in the long term.
10.4.4 Outcomes and processes
The outcomes of the management system consist of the achievements that are
tangible, and generally, are observable and measurable. Outcomes from a fishery
management system comprise matters such as the maintenance of the breeding stock
size above a specific limit reference point, or the control of bycatch of an important
species of seabird or mammal below a specified maximum acceptable level to
achieve specific rates of population rebuilding. Processes within the management
system comprise the strategies developed to achieve the management objectives
(including the intended outcomes), such as the procedures to take scientific advice
about the breeding stock size (either the current level or the level predicted for
the next fishing season), which may involve a network of advisory committees.
Other processes include the procedures used to control fishing activities (such as
permitted times of day, net sizes or fishing techniques) that ensure that a bycatch
limit is not exceeded.
Fisheries or aquaculture management systems will normally include a number of
processes and strategies that contribute to achieving sustainability conditions and
outcomes. Although a fishery or venture may have a comprehensive set of such
processes, consumers are not empowered with the appropriate knowledge to en-
able them to determine whether any specific process or strategy (such as a bycatch
action plan in a fishery, or a particular form of committee structure) will lead to the
intended outcome (such as an acceptably low level of bycatch) and so there must be
an accompanying process to confirm that sustainable outcomes are being achieved.
While such strategies and procedures are important aspects of a management sys-
tem, on their own they do not guarantee that a fishery is achieving sustainable out-
comes. To ensure that a venture is achieving the expected sustainability outcomes
and objectives, the standard should encompass a balance of outcomes and processes
employed in the management system. It is important that the standard should not