GSSI recognized certification

Once a scheme successfully completes the Benchmark Process, the scheme is formally and publicly announced as ‘GSSI recognized’. This means that they are ‘in alignment’ with all 175 Essential Components (under v2.0) and thus aligned with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, FAO Ecolabelling Guidelines (for fisheries or aquaculture) and FAO Technical Guidelines for Aquaculture Certification for aquaculture. The number of Supplementary Components found to be ‘in alignment’ varies for each scheme. It is important to note that GSSI recognition does not include a ranking of any kind, nor does it declare the scheme ‘sustainable’. Finally, the GSSI Benchmark Process looks at environmental, governmental and operational criteria and does not include social issues.

CSC RFM

Certified Seafood Collaborative’s Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Program

Date of recognition under version 2.0: 30 June 2023

Fisheries Certification
(Responsible Fisheries Management Standard version 2.1, effective 1 October 2020)

More info

Benchmark report PDF

IRFM

Iceland Responsible Fisheries
Management (IRFM) Certification Programme

Date of recognition: 8 November 2016

Fisheries Certification
(Fisheries Management Standard Version 2.0, effective 1 July 2016)

More info

Benchmark report PDF

MOCA overview pdf

MSC

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

Date of recognition: 14 March 2017

Fisheries Certification
(MSC Fisheries Certification Requirements and Guidance Version 2.0, effective 1 October 2014)

More info

Benchmark report PDF

MOCA overview PDF

BAP

Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Certification

Date of recognition: 4 October 2017

Aquaculture Certification
Aquaculture Facility Certification for Salmon Farms (Issue 2, Revision 3, October 2016) and Finfish and Crustacean Farms (Issue 2.4, 23 May 2017)

More info

Benchmark report PDF

MOCA overview PDF

GLOBALG.A.P.

GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Certification System

Date of recognition: 20 April 2018

Aquaculture Certification
GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance System (Aquaculture V5.2, February 1 2019; Aquaculture v5.3-GFS, May 21 2020; Aquaculture V5.4-GFS March 2 2021)

More info

Benchmark report PDF

MOCA overview PDF

ASC

Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)

Date of recognition: 31 August, 2018

Aquaculture Certification
Salmon Standard (Version 1.3, July 2019) and Shrimp Standard (Version 1.0, March 27, 2014)

More info

Benchmark report PDF

MOCA overview PDF

G.U.L.F.

Audubon Gulf United for Lasting Fisheries (G.U.L.F.) Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Program.

Date of recognition: October 4, 2018

Fisheries Certification

G.U.L.F. is part of RFM since May 2, 2023

Audubon G.U.L.F. RFM Certification Standard, v1.2 (July 10, 2018)

CQA

BIM Certified Quality Aquaculture (CQA) scheme

Date of recognition: 6 February 2019

Aquaculture Certification
BIM CQA Farm Standard (Issue 1, Revision 1, November 2018).

More info

Benchmark report PDF

MOCA Overview PDF

MEL Japan

Marine Eco-Label Japan (MEL) V2 Scheme for Aquaculture and Fisheries

Date of recognition under Version 2.0: September 21, 2023

Aquaculture Certification
Aquaculture Management Standard (Version 1.0, 2018)

Fisheries Certification
Fisheries Management Standard (Version 2.0, 2018)

More info

Benchmark report PDF

MOCA Overview PDF

CeDePesca

Encourage good practices in small-scale fisheries through co-management.

CeDePesca are working on a confirmation of a Co-management Commission in Panama have begun data collection through voluntary logbooks by fishers.

It is an ongoing experience where we are discussing and resolving together how to recover the diminished resources that make our livelihoods. We really thank CeDePesca and Seafood MAP for their help on this process.

Ernesto Vargas

FENAPESCA (National Artisanal Fishers Federation)

The Philippines and Indonesia - Asian Seafood Improvement Collaborative

Providing improvement-oriented programs to smallholder producers and fishers to improve their social and environmental practices for better international markets while improving livelihoods and building resilient communities.

This aquaculture project seeks to engage smallholder shrimp farmers to help them improve their efforts towards environmental, social, and gender equality sustainability targets. ASIC provides improvement programs to allow for a step-by-step continuous journey for smallholder farmers to comply with the ASIC Shrimp and Social and Gender Standards. The program offers verification of sustainable practices at no cost which is then leveraged to provide direct market access to buyers. ASIC fisheries project is working to finalize its program while providing support to existing fisheries programs in the Philippines and looking to pilot its program soon.

The social and gender components are a new area that we have not yet heard before and through this program, our awareness has increased - which extended to farm management, household, and to the community level.

Smallholder Farmer

Indonesia

Uganda - Deutsche Gesellschaft fϋr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Ensuring food security and reducing poverty by increasing fish supply and income

The Responsible Fisheries Business Chains Project (RFBCP) in Uganda is concentrating on sustainable fisheries management of Nile Perch on Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga. Currently, GIZ-RFBCP is drafting selection criteria that will be used to identify producers to work with. The status of such businesses will be ascertained at the beginning and where points of weakness are identified in regards to sustainability measures. GIZ-RFBCP will work with producers to validate their sustainability measures and help them register on the Seafood MAP.

China - China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance and China Blue Sustainability Institute

Optimizing the industrial layout, conserving fishery resources, and protecting water ecology to meet the growing consumer demand for high-quality protein and to provide producers with new sustainable practices.

CAPPMA and China Blue have been working with scientific research teams, producers, purchasers, and other stakeholders over the span of this project. In close cooperation, a large amount of research has been carried out and suggestions have been made for the optimization and next development of the Seafood MAP registration model based on China's characteristics and reality.

In China, there are many types of aquatic products available for residents to consume, and the production model is diversified. Reflecting on our pilot work so far, we know more time is needed to optimize, but we are looking forward to establishing a concrete buildout of the Seafood MAP platform to move our work forward and improve.

Janelle Dong

CAPPMA

Papua New Guinea - Fishing Association of Papua New Guinea

Exposing our progress and performance with seafood supply chain partners and finding common ground for collaboration to move towards certification.

The prawn and lobster fisheries management in the area is aimed at preserving the fishery for the traditional inhabitants, with strict limited entry for non-inhabitants. We aim to move all fisheries and aquaculture operations toward sustainable certification, we need Seafood MAP as a path to educate our fisher how to collect data properly, report and assess it.

Seafood MAP has increased the collaboration between the National Fishery Authority and the producers in the area with respect to data collection, measuring performance and reporting against the robust Seafood MAP criteria based on FAO and SDG indicators.

Marcelo Hidalgo

Sustainability Director, FIA PNG

Aquaconnect and IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative

Working towards more efficient resource use by collecting and analyzing farm and disease data.

The project focused on improving disease data collection and analysis, by linking Aquaconnect to a lead aquatic epidemiologist. The objective of the project is to provide farmers better information on diseases with the ultimate aim to improve resource efficiency. The Aquaconnect team tested the Seafood MAP registration form for seafood producers, as well as the self-evaluation form for their customers.

Through the IDH-Aquaconnect program, we were able to promote sustainable practices among the farmers communities and set several shrimp production benchmarks. One of the key highlights is that we have redesigned our data architecture to capture individual and population-level symptoms to support the shrimp epidemiology study.

Sudhakar Velayutham

Project Manager, Aquaconnect

Indonesia - UNIDO

Strengthening the quality and standard compliance capacity of small and medium-scale enterprises to improve market access to both domestic and international markets.

The programme supports the country to align the demand and supply of quality services required by markets through enhancing quality infrastructure and services, strengthening producers and value chains, and raising a culture for quality.

The Indonesian fisheries sector has great potential for both capture fisheries and aquaculture, with small fishers and farmers dominating the sector. Small scale fishers and farmers usually have limited access to markets, technology, information, finance, and public services. Helping them to improve their access to these services will ultimately improve their livelihood that could incentivize sustainable fishing and farming practices.

Ita Sualia

Chief Operations Officer, UNIDO

Ecuador - Sustainable Shrimp Partnership and IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative

Supporting SSP members to achieve their goals and supporting small and medium-scale farmers to achieve SSP through the establishment and coordination of an improvement program.

Over the course of the project, twelve farms qualified for the SSP criteria of zero antibiotics, ASC certification, minimal environmental impact, and full traceability. Currently, the SSP focuses on a better understanding of their carbon and water footprint by joining the IDH Aquaculture Working Group on Environmental footprint. The SSP team tested the Seafood MAP registration form for seafood producers, as well as the self-evaluation form for their improvement program.

The improvement program allowed us to support small shrimp farms to demonstrate accountability by improving their environmental and social performance and it demonstrated that SSP members are committed to the highest levels of transparency by being the first shrimp producers in the world to adapt blockchain traceability for shrimp

Pamela Nath

Director, SSP

Mozambique - Pescamar and Nueva Pescanova

Improve maritime fishing training in Mozambique to ensure local generational replacement of fleet masters and resilience of fishing communities

The project is a public-private initiative that transfers knowledge from the Atlantic Maritime Fisheries Institute of Vigo (Spain) to the Matola Fishing School (Mozambique) funded by AECID and the collaboration of Pescamar and Nueva Pescanova. To date it has allowed improving the school´s curricula, and its equipment and has incorporated students to work at Pescamar.

Seafood MAP will give visibility to the work that Pescamar is doing to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, in this case highlighting its collaborative work to improve fisheries education.

Jose Joaquin Rodriguez

General Manager, Pescamar

Hugo Byrnes

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.

Flavio Corsin

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.

Join our

Global Partnership

GSSI recognized certification

CSC RFM

Certified Seafood Collaborative’s Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Program

IRFM

Iceland Responsible Fisheries
Management (IRFM) Certification Programme

MSC

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

BAP

Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Certification

GLOBALG.A.P.

GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Certification System

ASC

Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)

G.U.L.F.

Audubon Gulf United for Lasting Fisheries (G.U.L.F.) Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Program.

CQA

BIM Certified Quality Aquaculture (CQA) scheme

MEL Japan

Marine Eco-Label Japan (MEL) V2 Scheme for Aquaculture and Fisheries

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Encourage good practices in small-scale fisheries through co-management.

Providing improvement-oriented programs to smallholder producers and fishers to improve their social and environmental practices for better international markets while improving livelihoods and building resilient communities.

Ensuring food security and reducing poverty by increasing fish supply and income

Optimizing the industrial layout, conserving fishery resources, and protecting water ecology to meet the growing consumer demand for high-quality protein and to provide producers with new sustainable practices.

Exposing our progress and performance with seafood supply chain partners and finding common ground for collaboration to move towards certification.

Working towards more efficient resource use by collecting and analyzing farm and disease data.

Strengthening the quality and standard compliance capacity of small and medium-scale enterprises to improve market access to both domestic and international markets.

Supporting SSP members to achieve their goals and supporting small and medium-scale farmers to achieve SSP through the establishment and coordination of an improvement program.

Improve maritime fishing training in Mozambique to ensure local generational replacement of fleet masters and resilience of fishing communities

Hugo Byrnes

Vice President Product Integrity, Ahold Delhaize

Flavio Corsin

Director of Partnerships, Aqua-Spark

GSSI recognized certification

Certified Seafood Collaborative’s Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Program

Iceland Responsible Fisheries Management (IRFM) Certification Programme

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Certification

GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Certification System

Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)

Audubon Gulf United for Lasting Fisheries (G.U.L.F.) Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Program.

BIM Certified Quality Aquaculture (CQA) scheme

Marine Eco-Label Japan (MEL) V2 Scheme for Aquaculture and Fisheries

You have successfully subscribed

Encourage good practices in small-scale fisheries through co-management.

Providing improvement-oriented programs to smallholder producers and fishers to improve their social and environmental practices for better international markets while improving livelihoods and building resilient communities.

Ensuring food security and reducing poverty by increasing fish supply and income

Optimizing the industrial layout, conserving fishery resources, and protecting water ecology to meet the growing consumer demand for high-quality protein and to provide producers with new sustainable practices.

Exposing our progress and performance with seafood supply chain partners and finding common ground for collaboration to move towards certification.

Working towards more efficient resource use by collecting and analyzing farm and disease data.

Strengthening the quality and standard compliance capacity of small and medium-scale enterprises to improve market access to both domestic and international markets.

Supporting SSP members to achieve their goals and supporting small and medium-scale farmers to achieve SSP through the establishment and coordination of an improvement program.

Improve maritime fishing training in Mozambique to ensure local generational replacement of fleet masters and resilience of fishing communities

Hugo Byrnes

Vice President Product Integrity, Ahold Delhaize

Flavio Corsin

Director of Partnerships, Aqua-Spark

Iceland Responsible Fisheries
Management (IRFM) Certification Programme