Responsible Fishing Certification

Responsible Fishing Standards have been developed to raise standards in the catching sector. 

Global Trust certifies vessels to Responsible Fishing Standards in:

• Ireland
• United Kingdom
• Holland

Ireland

The Responsible Fishing Programme in Ireland, has been developed by BIM, the Irish Fisheries Board with inputs from external stakeholders.

The BIM Seafood Stewardship Programme provides the fishing industry and the consumer of wild caught Irish seafood with a ‘Certification of Best Practice’ that seafood sold under a Quality Mark has been harvested using responsible fishing practices, by vessels with the highest standard of hygiene and handling, and a crew trained to ensure that the fish landed are of the highest quality.

The Seafood Stewardship Programme comprises three, integrated, Stewardship Standards: a Fishing Vessel Standard; an Onshore-Seafood Handling and Quality Standard for intermediaries’ through the supply chain; and a Chain of Custody Standard that underpins the provenance and traceability guarantees provided by the programme. Collectively, these standards comprise a product certification system in the process of being accredited by the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) to the internationally recognized ISO Guide 65 (EN 45011). As such the standards are independent third-party certified and they are regarded as best practice globally.

Qualifying vessels and onshore operators can display a ‘mark of conformity’ on their product and issue a certificate indicating the product's conformity with the requirements of the programme that provides an assurance that the product has been fished responsibly, is of the highest quality, and is fully traceable.

United Kingdom

The Responsible Fishing Scheme has been developed by Seafish UK to raise standards in the catching sector. The Responsible Fishing Scheme was created in response to the needs of the seafood supply chain to demonstrate their commitment to the responsible sourcing of seafood. The aim is that over time it will become a condition of supply.

Based on a Publicly Available Specification from the British Standards Institution (BSi), the Responsible Fishing Scheme is an independent, audited assessment of the application of good practice by a vessel skipper and crew in their fishing operations.

It covers four key areas, namely:

• Fishing practices.
• Vessel criteria.
• Crew competence.
• Environmental considerations.

What are the benefits of the scheme?

The Responsible Fishing Scheme demonstrates that a vessel operates to industry good practice guidelines. The scheme gives an assurance to the supply chain that fish from the vessel has been caught responsibly.  It will also give the vessel a tool to allow them to positively position themselves in the global marketplace.

The Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme standards are being used across Scotland, England, N.Ireland, Wales, Isle of Man and also in Holland and Sri Lanka.

For information of any of the Responsible Fishing Schemes and Standards please contact us at info@GTCERT.com