(Washington, DC) — The aquaculture industry is growing and now produces approximately 40 percent of the seafood consumed around the world each year. This “Blue Revolution” has increased seafood availability, but has also caused serious environmental and social impacts, including but not limited to pollution, destruction of habitat, damage to native ecosystems, and harm to human health. These impacts must be reduced to ensure the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the industry.
Ecolabels will play an important role in reducing the impacts of aquaculture production and processing. Ecolabels — voluntary systems that certify and label products that meet standards for environmental and social performance — have already begun to be developed for aquaculture products, and additional ecolabel development is likely in the near future. A report released by the ELI and The Ocean Foundation — Gold Standard for Sustainable Aquaculture Ecolabel Design — establishes a definitive standard for the institutional design of sustainable aquaculture ecolabels.
The Gold Standard’s institutional framework is credible and practical, and compliant ecolabels will produce sustainable aquaculture practices on the ground. The Gold Standard addresses weaknesses in existing ecolabeling programs, including lack of credibility, uncertain performance, and reliance on current practices to determine standards. By contrast, Gold Standard-compliant ecolabels rely on the best available science and state of the art institutional design to create and implement certification standards that ensure economic, environmental, and social sustainability. “By adopting the Gold Standard, new or existing ecolabels can ensure that aquaculture production does not come at the cost of environmental degradation, social inequity, or harm to future generations,” said Kathryn Mengerink, Director of ELI’s Ocean Program.
ELI will present the Gold Standard during an upcoming workshop hosted by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to develop international standards for the design of aquaculture certification systems. “The Gold Standard will be influential in the upcoming negotiations and will strengthen our efforts to develop sustainable aquaculture ecolabels,” said Mark J. Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation.
This report was produced by the Environmental Law Institute with funding and guidance from the Munson Foundation, the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, The Ocean Foundation and an anonymous foundation. The report is available free of charge from ELI’s Web site, at http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11297. You may contact Read Porter at (202) 939-3810.
ELI’s Ocean Program conserves and protects the marine environment by reversing degradation from land-based activities, fostering sustainable fisheries, and ensuring effective management of industrialized oceans through projects on aquaculture certification, offshore alternative energy development, and ecosystem-based management, among other issues.
The Ocean Foundation (TOF) is a community foundation with a specialized practice. TOF’s niche is providing high-end philanthropic advice for a community of donors who care about the coast and oceans. Its mission is to support, strengthen, and promote those organizations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world. TOF is a 501c3 non-profit, international public foundation. For more information about The Ocean Foundation, please visit http://www.oceanfdn.org.