Certifications and Ratings Collaboration

The Challenge: The seafood industry is a principle driver of the health of the world’s oceans, employs and supports nearly 60 million workers and is a primary means by which to ensure global food security. But, the demand for seafood is growing more rapidly than fish-stocks are able to regenerate themselves and, unless more environmentally sustainable and socially responsible fishing and aquaculture practices are put in place, we will not be able to supply the human demand for seafood.

What can be done:  Certification and ratings programs have played an important role in advancing the sustainable seafood movement during the past decade. However, the seafood certification and ratings landscape can seem confusing and seafood business and governments need help understanding the value of these tools and how they complement each other. Fisheries and aquaculture producers – particularly in the developing world – need more support to move along the path toward environmental sustainability and social responsibility. And the sustainable seafood movement as a whole needs a shared understanding of the global seafood landscape – its status and trends, what’s working and what’s not, and where the gaps are – in order to accelerate more sustainable fishing practices.

How The Certification and Ratings Collaborative is meeting the challenge: The Certification and Ratings Collaboration is an effort among five global seafood certification and ratings programs to increase efficiency, address challenges, and help more fisheries and aquaculture achieve environmental sustainability and social responsibility. The collaboration strives to coordinate our complementary tools for measuring and improving fishery and aquaculture performance, communicate clearly with seafood producers and buyers about our tools and the pathway to sustainability and analyze and track the global landscape of sustainable seafood.  The participating organizations are the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Fair Trade USA, Marine Stewardship Council, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.  The Certifications and Ratings Collaborative works together to coordinate tools and increase impact so that more seafood producers move along a clear path toward environmental sustainability and social responsibility.