QHA-Review_April_Digital

INSIGHTS
QHA REVIEW | 32
Surrounding habitat and biodiversity also need to be
protected, workers must be paid fairly and treated
well, and even the relationship with neighbours is
included.
On top of that, ASC certification
means that the feed the fish are given must be
sustainable as well. This means no fish meal sourced
from non-sustainable fisheries and no nasties such as
unsustainable palm oil. A green ASC logo means the
farmed seafood in the box is sustainable.
Global Seafood Alliance’s Best Aquaculture
Practice
Another aquaculture standard is the Global Seafood
Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standard.
Products that meet the standard carry the white fish
within an open circle logo.
The BAP program is the only aquaculture certification
program in the world that certifies every step of the
production chain – from hatcheries to farm, feed and
processing.
Each certification standard focuses on the four
pillars of responsible fish farming – environmental
responsibility, social accountability, food safety and
animal health and welfare. It is not just BAP saying
farms are doing the right thing. The BAP certification
program is benchmarked by globally recognised third
parties and is endorsed by more than 150 retail and
foodservice operators worldwide, and there are more
than 3,550 BAP certified producers globally.
Traceability
A healthy, sustainable global fishing industry requires
watertight traceability around the world to ensure
that all seafood comes from operators using best
practices. Sadly, there are unscrupulous businesses
and individuals who are fishing illegally, not reporting
their catch or not operating under proper regulations.
Known as IUU fishing (illegal, unregulated and
unreported), the unsavoury practice sees an economic
loss of around $55.4 billion every year and has a
significant impact on global food security.
IUU fishers, operating off the coast of vulnerable
nations, can severely impact the availability of seafood
for local communities. The global seafood industry is
actively working against this deplorable practice
with some of the biggest seafood companies
coming together to make the Global Dialogue
on Seafood Traceability broadly adopted.
They are also pressuring governments to
adopt the Port State Measures Agreement
(PSMA). This is an enforceable code that
would see the ports where illegal fish are
landed clean up their act.
These two measures would also
encourage the public to report on
suspicious fishing behaviour, make businesses
accountable and help ensure they buy from reputable
and regulated suppliers. Friends of Ocean Action cochair
and United Nations secretary general’s special
envoy for the ocean ambassador, Peter Thomson, said
ending illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is
essential to ensuring a sustainable blue economy and
the maintenance of a thriving ocean.
“There must be nowhere to land and nowhere to sell
fish and seafood that is caught illegally,” he said.
Country of origin labelling
After years of lobbying from the Australian seafood
industry, the federal government looks set to
legalise compulsory country of origin labelling for
the foodservice industry. When it is implemented,
perhaps later in the year, cafés, pubs, hotels and other
hospitality businesses will need to identify where their
fish comes from.
If it is local, the letter A will need to be displayed next
to Australian fish on the menu. If it is imported seafood
it will need to have the letter I next to it and if it is of
mixed origin, such as a marinara made with local
salmon and imported mussels, the letter M will need
to be displayed. At the time of writing, an official start
date was yet to be announced but the government has
assured business owners that there will be a gradual
transition period to allow the industry to adjust.
Modern slavery
Back in 2010, British newspaper, The Guardian,
published a shocking report about human slavery
in the global fishing industry. It rocked the seafood
industry and caused concern among consumers
who didn’t want to buy fish caught and processed by
poorly treated immigrant labour working in Southeast
Asian countries. This report was followed four years
later by the same paper with a similar story about
the state of aquaculture farms in Southeast Asia.
Immigrants were being forced to work long hours in
atrocious conditions for little or no money.