Sustainable fishery

Sustainable fishing means that the fishing methods used and their application procedures are consisted preserving and the reproductive capacity of the target fish species do not reduce ( no overfishing ) that the ecosystem is not damaged (such as the seabed ) and the proportion of unwanted by-catches is largely minimized. Sustainable fish products can come from marine fisheries, inland fisheries, recreational fisheries and aquaculture.

• 8.1 Sites of certification organizations

General

Overfishing, illegal fishing and high bycatch rates have decimated numerous species of fish of the seas threaten the existence or brought to the brink of extinction.

Especially very slowly proliferating species of fish such as shark, swordfish or the larger tuna species can be quickly endangered by overfishing in their inventory. One of the world's most over-exploited fish species but also includes species such as cod. Fish species that grow quickly, reproduce relatively early and no specific spawning grounds have such as sardines, herring, skipjack tuna, however, are more resistant.

Also the breeding of fish in fish farms may be associated with harmful effects on the ecosystem. For certain species, such as yellowfin tuna aquaculture also has a direct impact on the abundance of the species because the fish are not bred in the facilities, but caught as juveniles wild and fattened in cages only until ready for slaughter. In addition, fish farms are in those bred or fattened predators, have a negative impact on stocks of forage fish species, which are in turn taken from the wild.

Various fisheries and parts of the fish processing industry as well as more and more consumers see in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture a solution to the global fisheries crisis.

Terms of sustainable fisheries

Eco-labeling and certification organizations

Marine Stewardship Council

The currently largest certification organization is the independent and non-profit Marine Stewardship Council ( MSC). In September 2007, there were 857 MSC -certified fish products, which are sold in 34 countries .. About 2% of global fish catches and seafood come from MSC certified fisheries. From the MSC as sustainable recognized fisheries have been awarded the blue MSC eco-label.

To assess the sustainability of a fishery three criteria are used by the MSC:

Various environmental organization such as Greenpeace criticized the MSC ecolabel, as MSC -certified products from overfished stocks come from or are fished using destructive bottom trawling and fisheries that do not act sustainably, can get the seal.

Friend of the Sea

Friend of the Sea ( FOS short, dt Friend of the Sea) is a program for the promotion and certification of environmentally friendly fisheries and aquaculture and an eponymous eco-label. The program was established by the U.S. Earth Iceland Institute (EII ). From Friend of the Sea recognized fisheries are limited to the catcher is not overfished species, fishing methods should not affect the seabed and the bycatch rate must be less than 8% of the total catch.

From FOS -certified fish farms no negative impact on the environment must go out, the chuck may contain only fish fillet constituents from animal wastes or from a certified fishery of FOS, it may not contain any genetically modified organisms, chemicals and corrosion protection paints are used. The escape of farmed fish must also be suppressed as the penetration of other animals in the breeding farm. Emanating from the breeding farm emissions must be limited and controlled.

The certification process of a fishery or aquaculture is carried out according to the data and guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) and the various fisheries commissions. The red FOS - label is awarded for a product from a fishing region. All products that carry the FOS label are listed on the website of FOS.

FOS provides fisheries and traders a CO2 calculator, the Seafood Carbon Footprint Calculator ( SCFC ) is available, which will make it the CO2 balance, ie the amount of incurred for the production of one kilogram of fish CO2 emissions in the way of fishing to the supermarket, can be calculated. This is to the climate impacts of fishing and of global trade can be assessed with fish.

SAFE

SAFE is a 1990 existing monitoring program for captive dolphin- safe tuna of the U.S. Earth Iceland Institute (EII ) and an eponymous eco-label. In Germany, the club society is to save the dolphins to the program and checked importers and distributors.

It is primarily a dolphin conservation program to prevent the intended and unintended by-catch of marine mammals in the tuna for canned tuna products. From SAFE certified fisheries However, measures need to bycatch reduction for sea turtles, sharks and other non-target fish species such as swordfish or use Marlin, they should give up the catch of juvenile tuna and this, like all other by-catch species, releasing it again. However, the program includes unwanted by-catches and catches of overfished tuna stocks is not enough.

SAFE certified to ISO -9001 ind ISO 14001 worldwide and has 12 checkers in use, which control nearly 400 tuna producers in 52 countries. About 90 percent of world trade in canned tuna is connected SAFE. Approved products receive the SAFE environmental seal.

Organic Aquaculture

In addition to FOS, there are various programs, such as natural country or regional producers such as organic salmon farms in Ireland and Scotland, offering fish products from sustainable and ecological production and marked accordingly.

Seafood Watch

The Seafood Watch Program, founded by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California assigns no environmental labels such as MSC or FOS. It is a comprehensive information and assessment platform of sustainable fisheries and lists the stock situation of different species of fish, shellfish and other seafood.:

Fishing guide

Various environmental organizations from home and abroad to give partially out not matching, so-called fishing guide. These are usually based on a traffic light system, green for safe fish products, red for fish species is discouraged for environmental reasons prior to their consumption. The best-known fishing guide in Germany work Greenpeace and the WWF ( who co-founded the organization MSC and is represented today in the board ). The detailed fishing guides go this one also to the used in a fishing area fishing method for each target species. Thus, for example, albacore tuna both safe (green) be fishing with trawl fishing in the Pacific, as well as questionable (red ) when the catch of the pelagic longline fishery dates.