Marine Fisheries Certification and Seafood Costumer Awareness:

Demand-based methods for managing fisheries resources

By: Nara Wisesa

Environmental Policy and Law Conference

Central European University

Budapest

17 January 2009

World Fisheries Trend

In the 1950’s• Prelude of the commercial/industrial fisheries boom• Only around 10% of fish stocks has been fully exploited• 40% of fish stocks are being developed/explored for exploitation• 50% of fish stocks are still in a pristine condition

Current State of Fisheries- All stocks have been exploited- 30% are fully exploited, and 40% are overexploited- The remaining 30% have already collapsed

(UNEP 2007; Ward and Myers 2005)

World Fisheries Trend

From: UNEP Global Environment Outlook 4 (2007) The graph shows the level of global fish stock exploitation between 1950 and 2003.

World Fisheries Trend

Marine fish landing trend still on the rise- Catching down the food web

- lower trophic species exploitation- Exploitation of poorly studied stocks

- deep-sea species, polar species

Environmental Impacts of fisheries - Destruction of fish habitats and nursery grounds

- Due to destructive fishing methods

- Disturbance of marine food-webs- Removal of important predators

(Eklof et al. 2008; Lutchman 2005)

World Fisheries Trend

What is causing this trend?

Ever-rising demand for Marine Fisheries Products

Seafood for Human Consumption (78% of all fish landings)

Fishmeal, Fish Oil, and other fisheries related Industries(22% of all fish landings)

(Blanco et al. 2007)

Dealing with Seafood Demand

This rising demand led to the launch of seafood related social marketing campaigns

• Certification of marine fisheries products

• Seafood consumer awareness campaigns

Dealing with Seafood Demand

Aims of these campaignsEnvironmental & Social perspective- To educate consumers about the environmental

effects of certain fisheries- Initiate change in seafood consumption behavior- Reduce the negative environmental impact of fisheries

Business perspective- Demand for certified seafood products from educated

consumers would bring profit- Fisheries would have the incentive to adopt

environmentally friendly methods(Caviglia-Harris et al. 2003; Jacquet and Pauly 2007)

Marine Fisheries Certification

• Dolphin-safe Tuna Certification– Classified as a single attribute label– Aim is to minimize/avoid dolphin by-catch

• Prohibits the use of tuna fishing methods that harms dolphins

• MSC – Marine Stewardship Council• KRAV eco-label

– Swedish eco-label for food products– Also provide certification for fisheries– A multiple attribute label that takes into account the

product’s lifecycle environmental impact

(Thrane et al. 2009)

Marine Stewardship Council• Established in 1997

– Started as a cooperation between Unilever and WWF– Has now become an independent non-profit organization

• Classified as a “resource oriented multiple attribute label”– Focus on assessing fish stock sustainability

• Limit over-fishing of stocks• Reduce fisheries induced ecosystem damage

• Fisheries would need to satisfy several environmental criteria in order for it to be certified– Consists of a 7-step certification procedure, done by an MSC-

approved certifier– Certified products would be allowed to display MSC labels

http://www.msc.org/

(Jacquet and Pauly 2007; MSC 2008)

Marine Stewardship CouncilA number of fisheries have obtained this certification, including:• Albacore tuna from the Pacific • Alaskan pollock from the US • Alaskan salmon from the US • Cockles from Wales • Herring from the UK • Mackerel from the UK • Rock lobster from Western Australia • Hoki from New Zealand • Langoustine (Norway lobster) from

Scotland • Patagonian toothfish from the South

Atlantic Ocean • Spiny lobster from Mexico • Hake from South Africa • Pacific cod from the Bering Sea and

Aleutian Islands • Mackerel icefish from Australia • etc…

http://www.msc.org/(MSC 2008)

• The current majority of MSC certified fisheries and the main markets for MSC certified products are primarily in developed countries– Consumers in these regions are currently more likely to buy low

environmental impact products• North America• Australia• New Zealand• Western Europe

• However, the establishment of MSC certification and product market in developing countries are not far behind– Projects to fund and encourage fisheries certification in these countries

are underway– In combination with seafood awareness campaigns that should

generate more market interest

Marine Stewardship Council

http://www.msc.org/

(MSC 2008; Thrane et al. 2009)

Seafood Costumer Awareness• Many NGOs, aquariums, seafood

retailers and non-profit organizations have launched seafood costumer awareness campaigns – Provide information regarding the

sustainability of seafood products• Red, Yellow and Green seafood list

– Encourage consumers to change their habit

• Performed through various media– Sustainable seafood guidebooks,

posters, cookbooks and wallet guides

– Live public campaigns along with marine themed music concerts to generate public interest

– Television programs, Internet websites, and advertisements

(MSC 2008; Thrane et al. 2009)

Seafood Costumer Awareness

http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

Challenges• Lack of interest in certain markets

– East Asian market (e.g. Japan, China) is proving resistant– Market potential in Africa and Latin America are questionable

• False naming and labeling– Both intentional and unintentional

• E.g. Patagonian Toothfishes are sold as Chilean Sea Bass– Hard to identify actual species, especially for fillets, canned, and

frozen products– Self attributed ‘eco-friendly’ labels without rigorous certification

process• Lack of effectiveness study

– Limited literature availability of market studies that measures the success of fisheries eco-labeling and awareness campaign (or the lack of it)

– Difficulty in quantifying the extent of consumer behavior change

(Jacquet and Pauly 2007, 2008; Laptikhovsky and Brickle 2005; Roheim 2003)

Successes• More and more fisheries are obtaining certification

– By June 2008, 30 Fisheries has been certified– About 100 more have started certification assessment process

• Certified fisheries have been shown to significantly lower their impact on the environment– Reduced level of accidental by-catch and discards of non-target

species and juveniles– Reports of reduced dolphin mortality from DolphinSafe tuna

fisheries• Demand for sustainable seafood is increasing

– 16000+ certified products are now available in 36 countries, showing a growing demand

– More and more seafood producers are obtaining their ingredients from certified fisheries

• Unilever, Birds Eye, Sealord, Iglo, etc.– Retailers actively joining the campaign for seafood awareness

• Wal-Mart, RanchMarket(Hicks and Schnier 2008; Jacquet and Pauly 2007; MSC 2008; Roheim 2003)

Conclusion

• Stock of world fisheries are in decline– Primary cause is demand for human consumption

• In response, costumer campaigns have been launched to control the demand for seafood products– Certification of marine fisheries

• DolphinSafe, MSC, KRAV

– Consumer awareness campaigns• Initiated by NGOs, aquariums, non-profit organizations, and

seafood retailers

Conclusion• Challenges faced by these campaigns include

– Lack of market interest in several regions– Misattribution of name and misuse of labels– Difficulty to perform studies regarding their effectiveness

• Several indicators can be considered as a sign that these campaigns have achieved their objectives to a certain level– High number of fisheries are seeking certification– A decrease in environmental impact of certified fisheries has

been observed– Demand for sustainable seafood products has been reported to

have increased

Thank You

(for not eating me)

The rare Atlantic/northern bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), considered as a red-list species in most seafood guides

References• Blanco, M., Sotelo, C.G., Chapela, M.J. and Perez-Martin, R.I. 2007. Towards sustainable and

efficient use of fishery resources: present and future trends. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 18: 29-36.

• Caviglia-Harris, J.L., Kahn, J.R. and Green, T. 2003. Demand-side policies for environmental protection and sustainable usage of renewable resources. Ecological Economics 45: 119-132

• Eklof, J.S., de la Torre-Castro, M., Gullstrom, M., Uku, J., Muthiga, N., Lyimo, T. and Bandeira, S.O. 2008. Sea urchin overgrazing of seagrasses: A review of current knowledge on causes, consequences, and management. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 79: 569-580.

• Hicks, R.L. and Schnier, K.E. 2008. Eco-labeling and dolphin avoidance: A dynamic model of tuna fishing in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 56: 103-116.

• Jacquet, J.L. and Pauly, D. 2007. The rise of seafood awareness campaigns in an era of collapsing fisheries. Marine Policy 31: 308-313.

• ________. 2008. Trade secrets: Renaming and mislabeling of seafood. Marine Policy 32: 309-318

• Laptikhovsky, V. and Brickle, P. 2005. The Patagonian toothfish fishery in Falkland Islands’waters. Fisheries Research 74: 11-23.

• Lutchman, I. 2005. Marine Protected Areas: Benefits and Costs for Islands. Amsterdam, Netherlands: WWF-the Netherlands.

• Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). 2008. MSC - The best environmental choice in seafood. URL: http://www.msc.org/ [consulted 15 January 2009].

• Roheim, C.A. 2003. Early indications of market impacts from the marine stewardship council’s ecolabeling of seafood. Marine Resource Economics 18: 95-104.

• Thrane, M, Ziegler, F. and Sonesson, U. 2009. Eco-labelling of wild-caught seafood products. Journal of Cleaner Production 17: 416-423.

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 2007. Global Environment Outlook 4: environment for development. Nairobi: UNEP.

• Ward, P. and Myers, R.A. 2005. Shifts in open-ocean fish communities coinciding with the commencement of commercial fishing. Ecology 86(4): 835-847.

Image Sources• Dolphin safe logo obtained from http://www.earthisland.org/• MSC logo and all other MSC related imagery are obtained from http://www.msc.org/• KRAV logo obtained from http://www.krav.se/• Australian Sustainable Seafood 3 Step Pocket Guide obtained from http://www.amcs.org.au/• WWF-Indonesia Seafood Guide obtained from http://www.wwf.or.id/attachments/pdf/seafoodguide_small.pdf• Seafood Selector obtained from http://environmentaldefense.org/• Photo of Patagonian Toothfish obtained from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Toothfish.jpg• Diagram of bottom trawl obtained from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6f/Benthictrawl.jpg• Photo of 1927 fishermen and their catch obtained from

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Commercial_fishing.jpg• Photo of trawler obtained from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Fishing_Trawler.jpg• Photo of fishing vessel obtained from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Albatun_Dod.jpg• Photo of fish market obtained from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Wash_fish_market.jpg• WWF-France Seafood guide obtained from http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf• Seafood Choices logo obtained from http://www.seafoodchoices.com/home.php• Greenpeace Red-List Seafood image obtained from http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/oceans/seafood• WWF-Norway Seafood Guide obtained from http://assets.panda.org/downloads/norway_seafood_guide.pdf• Photo of WWF-Indonesia Seafood Awareness Concert obtained from http://www.wwf.or.id/marine• Monterey Bay Aquarium Website screenshot obtained from http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx• Atlantic Blue-fin Tuna Image obtained from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/images/060724-

bluefin-tuna_big.jpg

• All images listed above were retrieved on 15 January 2009

• Background photo for final slide was taken from personal collection