Alaska flatfish fishery. (Photo: Alaska Seafood Cooperative)
ASMI improves its fisheries standard
(UNITED STATES, 5/11/2018)
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) announced it has issued Version 2.0 of the RFM Fisheries Standard as part of its continuous improvement commitment of its fisheries certification.
The organisation explained that the new version includes many substantial changes, adding depth and robustness to the Alaska RFM Certification program.
Revisions are based on a combination of factors including needs for improvements recognized by ASMI and the RFM Fisheries Standard Committee; stakeholder input collected over a two-year process, and required components of the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) global benchmark tool.
"We have conducted a rigorous and transparent process for developing Version 2.0 and a large part of this included the hard work of our Fisheries Standard Committee. The Alaska RFM Certification program remains committed to adapting in the evolving field of fisheries certifications,” states Susan Marks, Sustainability Director for ASMI.
The changes and improvements to Alaska RFM Fisheries Standard V 2.0 include:
- Rewording of complex clauses;
- General housekeeping and restructuring;
- Fusion of clauses with overlapping requirements;
- Arranging six Key Principles for evaluating fisheries into four Key Sections;
- Inclusion of specific metrics and indicators;
- Improved specificity of some clauses (e.g. stock status, ecosystem components, etc.)
- Review of additional FAO documentation and related inclusion of some clauses;
- Scoring and Guidance document improvements;
- Development of an addendum and framework for Data Deficient Fisheries assessments;
- Modification of the scoring matrix from a descriptive to a numerical system;
- The Alaska RFM Fishery Standard is not applicable to deep-sea fisheries.
Version 2.0 will be used for all new fisheries that wish to be certified and for fisheries seeking re-certification to the Alaska RFM program from May 1, 2018.
ASMI clarified that surveillance audits for existing certified fisheries will continue to be against RFM V1.3 Standard until May 2021 unless the Fishery client specifically requests an assessment against the new RFM V2.0 Standard.
editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media
Information of the company:
|