Benefits of Certification for Small-scale Fisheries - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 315

certification programmes cannot provide. Since the keeper of the standard and the
certifier are separate entities, the potential for degradation of the standard and/or
foul play in the process is minimised. Second, the MSC certification process is
international in scope as opposed to local or regional. By having one certification
process that can be applied to any wild fishery on the planet, there is the potential
to compare between certifications of fisheries for the same or similar species to
ensure consistency. In addition, the international nature of the MSC programme
means that fisheries from around the globe and earlier MSC certifications are used
as the benchmark for sustainability. This cross-pollination of information and ex-
pertise can lead to increases in resource understanding at the local level, and the
same mechanism also provides for a degree of credibility in the deliverables of the
certification process.
In practice a small-scale fishery might have observed a particular environmental
or sustainability issue, but they may not be able to attract the attention of their
management or governmental systems. By soliciting and completing an MSC pre-
assessment, and being willing to share the results publicly, the fishery might be
able to gain credibility and have the issue listened to by those with the power to
make change. In this way the first deliverable of the MSC certification process, the
pre-assessment, can provide a third-party verification of the small-scale fishery's
concerns and this can then be used as leverage or as a bargaining tool to improve
their position.

15.3.4 Creating lobbying power

A good example of a small-scale fishery using the MSC process as a means of
creating lobbying power within a management framework is provided by a lobster
fishery in north-eastern Brazil. Early in the MSC programme, this fishery con-
ducted a pre-assessment with the express purpose of using it to lobby the Brazilian
government for the implementation of a national lobster management plan. One
of the fishery's major concerns was increased industrial fishing of lobsters by for-
eign vessels in the offshore waters. The communities that make up this fishery had
been observing this behaviour and reporting it to the authorities for a time to no
avail (Chaffee 2001, Scharer 2001). The pre-assessment was an opportunity for the
community to receive a third-party verification of their concerns. At the same time
the communities encouraged others along the coast to join the MSC programme
by promoting certification at an annual sailing race. This approach has produced
some positive results. Most importantly, the government and the fishery have now
developed a local working group which is working together to address the problem
of foreign fleets in their local waters.
There are also many small-scale fisheries in developed countries that are under-
represented either due to management system resource allocations and/or because
of the powerful voice of the few large actors in their regional or national fishery
sector. In these fisheries the MSC certification process could also provide the vehicle