New report on sustainability claims – a great introduction

The Market Advisory Council, of which European Fishmeal is a member, recently published a workshop report on voluntary sustainability claims on seafood products. The workshop was very comprehensive and had a number of high-level panellists, and the report is a great introduction to voluntary sustainability claims, including ecolabels and certification schemes. 

The purpose of the workshop was to bring together members of the MAC, institutions and external experts in a constructive exchange about how voluntary sustainability claims and information on seafood products, including ecolabels and certification schemes, interact with the European seafood market. The importance of sustainability claims have increased steadily over the past decade, and for both fishmeal and feed producers, it has become a license to operate.

The workshop, and hence also the report, is divided into three sessions. Session I, which served as both an introduction to sustainability in the seafood sector and a run-through of the private and public initiatives to secure it. Where the first session was focused on the theoretical aspects of sustainability labels, the second session focused on the experiences of the actors in the field throughout the value chain: the fishing sector, the aquaculture sector, the processing sector, and the sales sector. The focus of the third session was on the ecological footprint as well as on consumer attitudes.

The full report, which can be read here, shall, besides serving as a great introduction for interested parties, serve as the basis for an advice to the European Commission with follow-ups and recommendations on the potential need to update the current legislative framework on voluntary sustainability claims on seafood products.