SEAFOODNEWS.COM — December 15, 2014 — The Steering Board of GSSI – the Global Seafood Sustainability Initiative – voted unanimously last week to revise the structure of the GSSI Benchmark tool, which is designed to reduce confusion in the field of seafood ecolabeling and certification.
The first draft of the tool was released last summer for comment. A majority of the commentators, including the FAO, objected to a multi-tiered scheme of benchmarking. It appears that the Board has listened, and is now revising the GSSI tool.
"After careful consideration of the comments received during the public comment period and from its partners, the GSSI Steering Board made a unanimous decision to revise the GSSI Global Benchmark Tool," said Hermann Weisse, Program manager.
"The GSSI Global Benchmark Tool is designed to deliver transparency and promote improvement by encouraging seafood certification schemes to meet the GSSI Requirements and GSSI Indicators. Seafood certification schemes that undergo the benchmarking process and are found to be in compliance with all of the GSSI Requirements will be formally recognized by GSSI. The GSSI Requirements are grounded in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and ‘FAO Guidelines’," said GSSI in a statement.
This appears to mean that there will be no tiers or grading requirements for schemes to be recognized by GSSI, but that all schemes that meet GSSI requirements will be formally recognized.
The GSSI will take additional aspirational items and lump them together as 'GSSI' indicators. Their benchmarking process will also verify and communicate if recognized seafood certification schemes have implemented GSSI Indicators.
The GSSI statement said the "indicators are grounded in the CCRF and related FAO, ISO and ISEAL documents. The GSSI Indicators will allow schemes to demonstrate the diversity of their approach and help stakeholders understand where differences exist."
It appears in our view that the Board is attempting to create a workable compromise between the standards required for an international benchmark, as expressed in the GSSI requirements, and the framework for NGO sponsored schemes to differentiate themselves and compete with each other on various goals and metrics. By labeling these aspects 'indicators', the GSSI is clearly stating they are optional, and not part of the GSSI requirements.
This may represent a very positive path forward, because it would encompass for example, the possibility that a Thai government national certification can meet GSSI benchmarks, if it is compliant with FAO requirements, and at the same time allow NGO sponsored schemes to claim special attributes such as requiring an extremely high precautionary standard on habitat or hatchery production, or special treatment of marine reserves, or social measures. But the aspirations that go beyond the existing international consensus on sustainability as represented in FAO documents would not be folded into the GSSI benchmark.
The GSSI Steering Board said they will be providing technical guidance to the GSSI Expert Working Groups about how to apply the agreed structure to complete the revision of the GSSI Global Benchmark Tool. This will be followed by a Pilot Testing Program and further opportunity for public comments.
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.