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Evaluation and legal assessment of certified seafood

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  • Froese, Rainer
  • Proelss, Alexander

Abstract

This study presents a legal review of international treaties to derive sound definitions of overfishing. It examines seafood stocks that were certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or Friend of the Sea (FOS). Stock size and fishing pressure were compared with the internationally agreed reference points which both organizations have accepted. No suitable status information was found for 11% (MSC) to 53% (FOS) of the certified stocks. For the stocks with available status information, 19% (FOS) to 31% (MSC) had overfished stock sizes and were subject to ongoing overfishing. An analysis of legal implications of certification of overfished stocks suggests that a certifying body cannot be held liable for a violation of internationally agreed standards unless the domestic law of its home country so regulates. States may ban the import of fish products from overfished stocks, but only in very specific cases. Possible causes for the certification of overfished stocks are discussed and recommendations are given on how the certifiers could improve their performance. The study concludes that it is still reasonable to buy certified seafood, because the percentage of moderately exploited, healthy stocks is 3–4 times higher in certified than in non-certified seafood.

Suggested Citation

  • Froese, Rainer & Proelss, Alexander, 2012. "Evaluation and legal assessment of certified seafood," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 1284-1289.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:marpol:v:36:y:2012:i:6:p:1284-1289
    DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2012.03.017
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Simon R. Bush & Peter Oosterveer, 2015. "Vertically Differentiating Environmental Standards: The Case of the Marine Stewardship Council," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, February.
    2. Dietz, Thomas & Biber-Freudenberger, Lisa & Deal, Laura & Börner, Jan, 2022. "Is private sustainability governance a myth? Evaluating major sustainability certifications in primary production: A mixed methods meta-study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    3. Quaas, Martin F. & Froese, Rainer & Herwartz, Helmut & Requate, Till & Schmidt, Jörn O. & Voss, Rüdiger, 2012. "Fishing industry borrows from natural capital at high shadow interest rates," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 45-52.
    4. Boys, Kathryn A. & Caswell, Julie A. & Hoffmann, Sandra A. & Colarusso, Samantha, 2015. "The Business of Safe Food: An Assessment of the Global Food Safety Certification Industry," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205870, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Selden, Rebecca L. & Valencia, Sarah R. & Larsen, Ashley E. & Cornejo-Donoso, Jorge & Wasserman, Amanda A., 2016. "Evaluating seafood eco-labeling as a mechanism to reduce collateral impacts of fisheries in an ecosystem-based fisheries management context," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 102-115.
    6. Deighan, L.K. & Jenkins, L.D., 2015. "Fishing for recognition: Understanding the use of NGO guidelines in fishery improvement projects," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 476-485.
    7. Kate Barclay & Alice Miller, 2018. "The Sustainable Seafood Movement Is a Governance Concert, with the Audience Playing a Key Role," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, January.
    8. Minna Pappila & Minni Tynkkynen, 2022. "The Role of MSC Marine Certification in Fisheries Governance in Finland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-15, June.
    9. Jennifer Jacquet & David Frank & Christopher Schlottmann, 2013. "Asymmetrical Contributions to the Tragedy of the Commons and Some Implications for Conservation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-13, March.
    10. Alexis Gutierrez & Thomas F. Thornton, 2014. "Can Consumers Understand Sustainability through Seafood Eco-Labels? A U.S. and UK Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-23, November.
    11. Kvalvik, Ingrid & Noestvold, Bjoerg H. & Young, James A., 2014. "National or supranational fisheries sustainability certification schemes? A critical analysis of Norwegian and Icelandic responses," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 137-142.
    12. Frank Wijen & Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, 2019. "Controversy Over Voluntary Environmental Standards: A Socioeconomic Analysis of the Marine Stewardship Council," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-02071504, HAL.
    13. Stoll, Joshua S. & Johnson, Teresa R., 2015. "Under the banner of sustainability: The politics and prose of an emerging US federal seafood certification," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 415-422.

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