Marine Eco-Label Japan (MEL) V2

certification

On 12 December 2019 The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) has provided formal recognition of the Marine Eco-Label Japan (MEL) V2 scheme for the scope of Aquaculture and Fisheries.

GSSI’s recognition shows that their  Aquaculture Management Standard (Version 1.0, 2018) and Fisheries Management Standard (Version 2.0, 2018) are in alignment with all applicable Essential Components of the GSSI Global Benchmark Tool (version 1.0, 8 October 2015). Products certified by these standards can be recognized by a special logo including the V2 mark.

The Tool is underpinned by the FAO Ecolabelling Guidelines and the FAO Technical Guidelines for Aquaculture Certification. It consists of performance areas related to scheme governance, operational management (including chain of custody) and applied aquaculture farm and wild-capture fisheries audit standards.

Have a look at our factsheet to learn more about the benchmark process.

Scheme Owner

Marine Eco-Label Japan (MEL)

Date of Recognition

12 December 2019
Read the news release

Scope of Recognition

Aquaculture Certification
(Aquaculture Management Standard Version 1.0, 2018)

Fisheries Certification
(Fisheries Management Standard Version 2.0, 2018)

Steering Board Liaison

Judy Panayos, Senior Director Sustainability Supply Managament, Sodexo

Independent Experts

Aimee Russillo, Independent Consultant, Liseed Consulting
John Hargreaves, Independent Consultant, Aquaculture Assessments LLC
Joseph DeAlteris , President, DeAlteris Associates Inc

Benchmark Committee Members

Steve Minor, Managing Partner, Ocean2Table Alaska, LLC
Josie Foster, Director, J Foster Consulting LTD
Nigel Peacock, Director, Napfisheries & Aquatic Environment
James Baros, Director of Sustainability for Sunnyvale Seafood
Trevor Ward PhD, Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity Consultant
Dr. Paul Tuda, Fisheries Scientist

Public Consultation

1 – 30 July 2019

Governance

Operational Management

(including chain of custody)

Aquaculture Certification Standard

Fisheries Certification Standard

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