About The Tool

GSSI’s Global Benchmark Tool provides formal recognition of seafood certification schemes that successfully complete a rigorous and transparent benchmark process, underpinned by the FAO Guidelines. The Tool aims to minimize the overall environmental impact of how we produce, catch and supply seafood to meet a growing global demand.

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ABOUT THE TOOL

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The FAO Guidelines upon which the Tool is based:

The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF)

The FAO Technical Guidelines for Aquaculture Certification

The FAO Guidelines for Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine/Inland Capture Fisheries

Internationally accepted reference documents

gssi Benchmark tool

Clarity, credibility and choice through a formal recognition process

We encourage all stakeholders to actively participate in our Global Benchmark Tool Process, including conducting and guiding the benchmark process, providing comments during our public consultations, and taking part in the development of new initiatives including the review of the Tool.

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Participate in our Public Consultations

The Global Benchmark Tool Process is designed to be transparent and a true multi-stakeholder process. Therefore, for every scheme that enters the Benchmark Process and reaches step 5 of the process, GSSI holds a 30-day public consultation. GSSI welcomes comments from all industry stakeholders. Learn more

Learn more about the Benchmark Process

The Tool’s 7-step Benchmark Process is voluntary and designed to be independent, impartial and transparent. The expert-led process involves objective assessments made against performance areas covering scheme governance, operational management (including chain of custody) and standards for aquaculture and fisheries certification.
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GSSI Global Benchmark Tool User Manual (Version 1, October 2015)

Learn more about the Benchmark Framework

The Benchmark Framework includes 186 Essential Components based on the CCRF and the FAO Guidelines for Ecolabelling and technical guidelines for Aquaculture certification which schemes must meet to be recognized by GSSI. The Framework also includes 137 Supplementary Components, which allows schemes to show their diverse approach and helps stakeholders understand where differences between schemes exist. The Supplementary Components are grounded in the CCRF and related FAO documents, ISO normative standards and ISEAL codes.

GSSI Global Benchmark Tool (Version 1, October 2015)

Benchmark results

Once a scheme completes the Benchmark Process and is found to be in alignment with the 186 Essential Components, it is publicly recognized by GSSI and the Benchmark Report is made available on the GSSI website.

Become a Benchmark Committee Member

To ensure the Benchmark Process remains independent and impartial, GSSI works with a global network of Benchmark Committee Members to provide feedback on the process for each seafood certification scheme. To learn more and apply to be a Benchmark Committee Member, please contact the GSSI Secretariat secretariat@ourgssi.org.
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Join an Expert Working Group

For the development of GSSI’s tools, we convene multi-stakeholder Expert Working Groups to inform and shape the products. Currently, GSSI is running 3 Expert Working Groups for the development of The Global Benchmark Tool 2.0

Vice President Product Integrity, Ahold Delhaize

Hugo Byrnes joined Ahold in 2006 and was subsequently appointed to the position of Vice President Product Integrity. He is responsible for Ahold Delhaize’s food and non-food product policies, which cover product safety and responsible products. This includes social compliance, animal welfare and environmental issues. Hugo Byrnes has a Dutch Law degree from the State University Leiden, the Netherlands. He is a food lawyer whose career has focused on the food business and in particular on quality management and standardization.

Director of Partnerships, Aqua-Spark

Flavio has spent more than two decades working in responsible aquaculture globally for non-profit, intergovernmental, and for-profit organizations. As Aqua-Spark’s Director of Partnerships, he is responsible for driving the development and execution of a robust partner ecosystem that aligns all stakeholders behind a core vision, while supporting Aqua-Spark’s portfolio, network, and goals. Prior to joining Aqua-Spark, Flavio worked for IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, overseeing their Aquaculture Program. He was also IDH Vietnam Country Director, establishing groundbreaking public-private partnerships in coffee, tea, and apparel. He founded and ran the sustainability arm of the Vietnam association of farmers and fishers (VINAFIS). He has worked as an expert for over 20 international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Flavio holds an M.Sc. in Aquaculture from the University of Stirling and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology, the study of diseases in populations, from the University of Liverpool.

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Global Partnership