Seafish is sponsored by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to support the UK's seafood industry.
Seafish does this in several ways, including 'Ensuring a Safe and Skilled Workforce' and championing the industry's reputation.
Responsible Fishing Port Scheme
Seafish owns and manages the Responsible Fishing Port Scheme (RFPS), which was reviewed in Version 1.1 of Human Rights at Sea's (HRAS) Fisheries and Aquaculture Certification, Standards and Ratings Report. The scheme scored highly, fulfilling twelve out of sixteen Key Performance Indicators.
Handover of Control
Seafish's public statement makes clear that it intends to exit the RFPS scheme by handing control to another entity. This fits with Seafish's broader desire not to act as a certification scheme owner, as reflected in its passing of the Responsible Fishing Vessel Scheme (RFVS) to the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) in 2020. HRAS has separately assessed several of GSA's schemes, including the RFVS, as part of the ongoing Review project and has received a public statement from GSA.
Ongoing Engagement
HRAS welcomes yet another example of UK and international engagement with its review project. Building towards Version 2.0 of the report, HRAS is working strongly for continued transparency and cooperation with scheme owners to promote best practice and highlight areas for improvement in protecting rights.
Seafish's Statement
"Seafish welcomes the recent release of the HRAS Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture Certification Schemes. This initiative provides an important marker on the role that third party certification schemes could play in supporting consumer choice and driving social change. We also acknowledge the rating that the Seafish Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme (RFPS) secured. While the port standard scored well, in meeting 12 of the 16 identified KPIs, further work would be required for the RFPS to meet all relevant metrics.
Seafish recognises the importance of this work, but as we are no longer actively progressing or promoting this standard we are unable to make any further commitments at this time. We are however keen to work with other parties who may be interested in adopting this standard. If and when that occurs then it is possible that further consideration could be given to assessing the feasibility of the RFPS to meet the remaining metrics.
Seafish wishes you every success with this important work."
Contact: If you have any questions, please write to us at enquiries@humanrightsatsea.org
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