 | |
| Established | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Paolo Bray |
| Type | Registered non-profit NGO |
| Purpose | Sustainable seafood and other labelling |
| Location |
|
Key people | Paolo Bray (CEO), Franco Bray (President) |
| Website | www |
Friend of the Sea is a project of the World Sustainability Organization for the certification and promotion of seafood from sustainable fisheries [1] and sustainable aquaculture. [2] [3] It is the only certification scheme which, with the same logo, certifies both wild and farmed seafood. [4]
Friend of the Sea was started in 2008, by environmentalist and economist Paolo Bray, Director of International Programs of the Dolphin-Safe Tuna program and as a project of the Earth Island Institute, the NGO which operates the successful International Dolphin-Safe project. [5] Some of the main world retailers participate, such as Carrefour, Coop Italia, Manor, Finiper, Aligro, Citysuper, Coldstorage, Conad, Despar, Esselunga, Fairprice, Lidl, Metro, Rewe, Spar, Walgreens, Walmart. Some important producers also have their products certified.
Friend of the Sea's mission, in line with the United Nations 2020 Sustainable Development Goal 14, is to use its ecolabel and conservation projects and campaigns to contribute to the health of the world's oceans. [6]
Friend of the Sea audits of seafood and omega3 products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture are carried out only by qualified auditors of international certification bodies accredited by national accreditation bodies.Friend of the Sea is the only standard for sustainable fisheries to be recognized by the national accreditation bodies. Audits and surveillance are carried out every year. [7]
As of 2018, FoS certifies about 770 companies including both farmed and wild species including 44 approved fisheries and fleets, 3,000 products and 150 commercial species have been certified by FoS. [8]
As per the 2015 UN State of Sustainability Initiatives, its certified volumes have "grown at a rate of 91% per annum between 2008 and 2015, reaching 9.3 million metric tons of FoS certified wild catch seafood in 2015." [8]
Friend of the Sea, in collaboration with FEM2-Ambiente, has introduced the systematic use of DNA Barcoding to avoid frauds and to confirm seafood and omega3 products sustainability. [9]
According to the “State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and the Blue Economy” published in 2016 by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), “FOS production has grown at a rate of 91% per annum between 2008 and 2015, reaching 9.3 million metric tons of FOS-certified wild catch seafood in 2015 (5.7% of global, 10.1% of total wild catch) making it the single largest source of certified catch on the global market.” [10]
Friend of the Sea is a Member Associate of Infofish, the project of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, providing marketing information and technical advisory services to the fishery industry. [11]
The peer reviewed study “Evaluation and legal assessment of certified seafood” by Rainer Froese and Alexander Proelss concluded that “For the stocks with available status information, 19% (FOS) to 31% (MSC) Marine Stewardship Council had overfished stock sizes and were subject to ongoing overfishing.” thus highlighting the performance of FOS standards. [12]
The report “De-Coding Seafood Eco-Labels: How the European Commission Can Help Consumers Access Sustainable Seafood” by Food and Water Watch Europe identified only 4 concerns regarding Friend of the Sea fisheries standard compared to 8 concerns regarding MSC. [13]
In May 2019 Friend of the Sea managed to lead Just Eat, Deliveroo and Menulog (Australia) to take off shark fin soups off their menu. [14]
FOS's Change.org petition to prevent ship strikes has obtained almost 50.000 signatures. FOS managed to lead the major members of the World Shipping Council to request the Sri Lankan government to shift the shipping lanes 15 miles South of current lanes, to reduce whales strikes by over 90%. [15]
Friend of the Sea collaborates with Tartalife project, introducing a Turtle Safe certification label to motivate fishermen and shipowners to deploy Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) and other turtle bycatch reduction measures. [16]
Friend of the Sea supports the Maldives Whale Shark Research Program (MWSRP), a research based conservation charity dedicated to whale shark studies and fostering community-focused conservation initiatives in the Maldives and the greater Indian Ocean.
Friend of the Sea supports The Aquaculture Development for the Environment Organisation (ADE), a non-profit organisation that develops coral reef conservation and research projects in Fiji, such as reef rehabilitation with the involvement of the local community. [17]
Friend of the Sea's criteria compliance is verified by independent accredited certification bodies. [8]
Essential criteria for fisheries are:
Article 30 of the FAO Guidelines for Ecolabelling of Marine Fisheries Products requires that:
The “stock under consideration” is not overfished, and is maintained at a level which promotes the objective of optimal utilization and maintains its availability for present and future generations, taking into account that longer term changes in productivity can occur due to natural variability and/or impacts other than fishing. In the event that biomass drops well below such target levels, management measures (Code of Conduct Article 7.6) should allow for restoration within reasonable time frames of the stocks to such levels. [18]
Friend of the Sea certified products from sustainable fisheries are in line with the FAO Guidelines for the ecolabelling of fish and fishery products from marine capture fisheries as they must comply with the following stricter requirements: [19]
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place. Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both in freshwater waterbodies and the oceans. About 500 million people worldwide are economically dependent on fisheries. 171 million tonnes of fish were produced in 2016, but overfishing is an increasing problem, causing declines in some populations.
Bycatch, in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juveniles of the target species. The term "bycatch" is also sometimes used for untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting. Non-marine species that are caught but regarded as generally "undesirable" are referred to as rough fish or coarse fish.
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally, resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area. Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any sizes, such as ponds, wetlands, rivers, lakes or oceans, and can result in resource depletion, reduced biological growth rates and low biomass levels. Sustained overfishing can lead to critical depensation, where the fish population is no longer able to sustain itself. Some forms of overfishing, such as the overfishing of sharks, has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems. Types of overfishing include: growth overfishing, recruitment overfishing, ecosystem overfishing.
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, as well as the related harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or as input factors in other industrial processes. The livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends directly or indirectly on fisheries and aquaculture.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organisation which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a team of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs).
Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer products. The use of ecolabels is voluntary, whereas green stickers are mandated by law; for example, in North America major appliances and automobiles use Energy Star. They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping. Some labels quantify pollution or energy consumption by way of index scores or units of measurement, while others assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Many ecolabels are focused on minimising the negative ecological impacts of primary production or resource extraction in a given sector or commodity through a set of good practices that are captured in a sustainability standard. Through a verification process, usually referred to as "certification", a farm, forest, fishery, or mine can show that it complies with a standard and earn the right to sell its products as certified through the supply chain, often resulting in a consumer-facing ecolabel.
Cetacean bycatch is the accidental capture of non-target cetacean species such as dolphins, porpoises, and whales by fisheries. Bycatch can be caused by entanglement in fishing nets and lines, or direct capture by hooks or in trawl nets.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the stewardship of U.S. national marine resources. It conserves and manages fisheries to promote sustainability and prevent lost economic potential associated with overfishing, declining species, and degraded habitats.
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries.
Marine conservation activism is the efforts of non-governmental organizations and individuals to bring about social and political change in the area of marine conservation. Marine conservation is properly conceived as a set of management strategies for the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas. Activists raise public awareness and support for conservation, while pushing governments and corporations to practice sound ocean management, create conservation policy, and enforce existing laws and policy through effective regulation. There are many different kinds of organizations and agencies that work toward these common goals. They all are a part of the growing movement that is ocean conservation. These organizations fight for many causes including stopping pollution, overfishing, whaling and by-catching, and supporting marine protected areas.
The environmental impact of fishing includes issues such as the availability of fish, overfishing, fisheries, and fisheries management; as well as the impact of industrial fishing on other elements of the environment, such as bycatch. These issues are part of marine conservation, and are addressed in fisheries science programs. According to a 2019 FAO report, global production of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals has continued to grow and reached 172.6 million tonnes in 2017, with an increase of 4.1 percent compared with 2016. There is a growing gap between the supply of fish and demand, due in part to world population growth.
A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish or whales. Modern factory ships are automated and enlarged versions of the earlier whalers, and their use for fishing has grown dramatically. Some factory ships are equipped to serve as a mother ship.
Dolphin-safe labels are used to denote compliance with laws or policies designed to minimize dolphin fatalities during fishing for tuna destined for canning.
Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted through the sustainable seafood movement which began in the 1990s. This operation highlights overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods. Through a number of initiatives, the movement has increased awareness and raised concerns over the way our seafood is obtained.
Canada's fishing industry is a key contributor to the success of the Canadian economy. In 2018, Canada's fishing industry was worth $36.1 billion in fish and seafood products and employed approximately 300,000 people. Aquaculture, which is the farming of fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants in fresh or salt water, is the fastest growing food production activity in the world and a growing sector in Canada. In 2015, aquaculture generated over $1 billion in GDP and close to $3 billion in total economic activity. The Department Of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) oversees the management of Canada's aquatic resources and works with fishermen across the country to ensure the sustainability of Canada's oceans and in-land fisheries.
Sustainable seafood advisory lists and certification are programs aimed at increasing consumer awareness of the environmental impact and sustainability of their seafood purchasing choices.
A fish company is a company which specializes in the processing of fish products. Fish that are processed by a fish company include cod, hake, haddock, tuna, herring, mackerel, salmon and pollock.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fisheries:
The fishing industry in Thailand, in accordance with usage by The World Bank, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other multinational bodies, refers to and encompasses recreational fishing, aquaculture, and wild fisheries both onshore and offshore.
Seaspiracy is a 2021 documentary film about the environmental impact of fishing directed by and starring Ali Tabrizi, a British filmmaker. The film examines human impacts on marine life and advocates for ending fish consumption.
