Anecdotes and Lessons of a Decade - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 426

predicting the prospects of a successful certification, given the current perfor-
mance level of the fishery or aquaculture venture and the extent to which the
fishery can be bound to a common set of standards and goals;
an indicative, or informal, assessment using in-house or independent technical
experts; and
a formal pre-assessment such as that of the MSC programme, which specifies a
number of matters to be considered prior to submitting for a full assessment.
These steps can take some considerable time and resources, and if there is a sus-
tained commitment to proceed, then this process may also involve the synthesis
and analysis of data in preparing a detailed in-house evaluation.
In the MSC programme, there are substantial requirements for data and technical
information to be prepared for a full assessment, and this can also take consider-
able time and money. The MSC process is based on data and evidence supplied
to the assessment team, and this must be assembled and presented by the venture
being assessed (or by stakeholders where evidence is sought from outside the ven-
ture). Much of this work can be done well in advance of an assessment process to
minimise costs and expedite the certification. Such a process of preparation also
allows ventures to more accurately determine the likelihood of certification suc-
cess, and increases their chances of certification, because they can provide a more
comprehensive base of structured information into the assessment process.

21.7 Assessment and certification - the processes

21.7.1 Stakeholder engagement
Stakeholders (environmental NGOs, fishers, government agencies, etc.) must be
able to fully and freely engage in all steps of a seafood certification process if it
is to be considered to reasonably reflect community norms of sustainability. This
includes definition of the standards, assessment of the fishery/venture, review of the
outcome including appeals, and compliance with any corrective actions imposed
during the lifetime of an ecolabel. In the MSC programme, for example, the full
engagement of NGOs was always considered to be vital by Unilever to ensure the
broader acceptability of the process and the outcomes. This is particularly difficult
when the costs of engagement are high (which is the case for almost all fisheries cer-
tifications) and when some participants cannot afford to become heavily engaged.
However, successful ecolabelling initiatives in other sectors feature participation
of all groups of stakeholders and particularly in standard setting and verification
procedures.

21.7.2 Technical inputs
Certification and ecolabelling systems are based on technical knowledge and data,
with the most robust systems requiring substantial levels of technical expertise. In