The growth of marine fisheries ecolabelling in Southern and Eastern Africa: Potential benefits and challenges

There is insufficient evidence to suggest the growth of voluntary eco-labelling initiatives is succeeding.

There is growing recognition that Africa’s marine fisheries face a precarious future. A number of factors are contributing to the situation, but the principal concern is unsustainable and wasteful fishing practices. The social and economic importance of this threat should not be underestimated. Fishing is an essential commercial industry, not only in terms of exports and job creation, but also in promoting the food security and livelihoods of people. Millions of Africans rely on the sea for their economic, social and cultural security.

Among international policy debates on how best to promote responsible fishing, the role of eco-labelling initiatives has gained impressive support and momentum. Few see these initiatives as offering a total solution, but they are regarded as initiatives that promote responsible fishing practices by enabling consumers to make informed choices.

Several international organisations provide eco-labels for fisheries. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), based in London, is considered the global leader and offers the most comprehensive and thorough certification process. This involves fisheries paying the MSC accredited certifying bodies to undertake thorough evaluations of their particular fishery based on the MSC’s sustainability criteria. The certification process can take more than a year and when the fishery receives a stamp of approval, it is audited every year and re-certified after five years. The MSC initiative started late in the 1990s and at present the total value of products carrying the MSC stamp of approval amounts to US$1billion. Numerous large retailers in North America, Europe and parts of Asia have agreed to source only certified fish products, or they have committed themselves to stocking more of these products. Walmart, for instance, has stated that it will sell only MSC-certified products by 2011.

Another organisation that offers eco-labelling for fisheries is the Italian-based Friends of the Sea (FOS). This initiative was developed by the Earth Island Institute, which led the international campaign for dolphin-friendly tuna. The FOS certifies both wild caught and farmed fish and has actually certified more fisheries than the MSC, amounting to some 10 billion tonnes of fish exports. However, the FOS does not have the same influence with international retailers as the MSC, possibly because the standard of its eco-label is considered inferior: the process used by the FOS to assess fishing companies is brief, inexpensive and far less rigorous than that used by the MSC. However, both organisations claim to comply with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s guidelines for the certification of fisheries’ products. (These guidelines were developed because of fears that a proliferation of eco-labels may be unreliable, confuse consumers and threaten the integrity of eco-labels in general)

Author: Andre Standing, Senior Researcher, Corruption and Governance Programme, ISS Cape Town