Ecolabelling of Seafood: The Basic Concepts - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 29

there is a wide range of methods in wild-capture fishery and aquaculture that
have advantages over other fisheries in terms of smaller inputs of fossil fuels,
chemical and antibiotics.

Specific initiatives needed in Asia to support the development of effective eco-
labelling for seafood products are considered (after Wennberg & Bjerner 2006) to
be:
regional development of criteria and standards;
establishment of regional accreditation and certifying bodies;
assessment of the relevance and potential application of the FAO ecolabelling
guidelines;
assessment of further market potential;
design and implementation of pilot projects directly relevant to the region and
involving the regional institutions;
elaboration of the role of national governments;
participation in relevant international forums and development initiatives in
ecolabelling;
assessment of the uniqueness of fisheries in the ASEAN and SEAFDEC member
countries, in relation to ecolabelling issues; and
assessment of the practicality and certification - readiness of fisheries and their
products.

While the concept of ecolabelling of seafood products appears to be less well
developed in Asia and the market drivers are perhaps some years behind those of
the developed world, an equivalent set of interests seems to be emerging. It may be
just a matter of time before Asia embraces certification and ecolabelling through
more regionally relevant standards, criteria and labelling systems. It remains to be
seen if those standards will lead to significant environmental achievements, just as
it does for the developed world.

1.7.4 A chef's story

Seafood chefs worldwide have taken active role in promoting the sustainability of
fish stocks. They are often in the news supporting more environmentally responsible
fishing initiatives and have become increasing vocal about seafood quality and sus-
tainability. A typical example is Neil Perry, internationally known Sydney chef and
restaurateur who designs Qantas Airlines Business and First Class menus (Box 1.5).
Another Sydney celebrity chef, Kylie Kwong, supports the Australian Marine Con-
servation Society in their efforts to promote seafood sustainability through the
buying guide and cooking events (see Chapter 19).
Chefs and restaurants are actively supporting the local production and marketing
initiative 'Invest in Fish South West in the UK' related to the sustainability of fish
stocks (Western Morning News, Thursday 7 October 2004). In the US, the Chefs