The Economics of Ecolabelling - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 53

of price changes - in other words, when demand increases due to the ecolabel -
should be certified. And indeed, such stipulations for strict management are part of
the standards against which fisheries are judged in assessment under ecolabelling
programmes such as the MSC certification process.
The decision to become certified for a fishery lies in balancing the current and
discounted future costs and benefits. On the cost side, there are more than simply
the costs of the certification process, but also the costs of any necessary changes
to fishing and management practices that may be essential in order to meet the
standards of the programme. If this necessitates altering the gear types of the vessels
to less environmentally harmful gear to preserve habitat, structural changes in
vessels to limit bycatch, or the collection of data which was not collected in the
past, then these costs may not be trivial. On the benefit side, potential benefits to
the fishery may be:
increased market share at the expense of other noncertified competitors selling
the same species;
ability to sell one's fish to retailers who are under pressure from environmen-
tal organisations to remove 'unsustainable' fish from their store shelves - i.e.
maintain access to the market;
increased value for the product - i.e. the price premium; and
long-term sustainability of the resource, leading to long-term sustainability of
employment in the fishery and associated industries.
One concern that has often been raised is that the potential benefits of increased
market share relative to noncertified competitors marketing the same species may
be a temporary benefit if at some point all fisheries for a particular species become
certified. There are several counterarguments. First, while the goal that all fisheries
might eventually meet the standards needed for certification are admirable, practical
considerations suggest that the likelihood that all fisheries of a particular species
will become certified may be relatively low, depending on species, particularly
for those species highly traded on the world market. Second, even if all capture
fisheries of a particular species become certified, for some species the wild product
competes with aquaculture product. For example, it may be many years into the
future before 100% of all wild salmon (US, Japanese, Russian) is certified and
competes with 100% certified aquaculture salmon, if ever. Finally, assuming that
all capture fisheries of a particular species are certified, the global market for fish
is very competitive and most fish compete not just with the same species from
different sources, but also with similar fish of different species. So, for example,
the entire whitefish complex of species is highly competitive - tilapia is increasingly
competing successfully with whitefish species from capture fisheries. Certified hoki
competes as a sustainable alternative in the European market with other whitefish
products such as cod and haddock, which some might see as less sustainable (at least
if they come from European sources) - even if the flavour of hoki is not as mild as
cod or haddock. With a few exceptions, most species compete in the global market