The Global Seafood Alliance, formerly Global Aquaculture Alliance; and MarinTrust, formerly IFFO RS; have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together and create an end-to-end assurance program for the global seafood value chain.
The MoU will see the two organizations cooperate on meeting a goal of having 75 percent of the world’s marine ingredients supplies – for products like fishmeal and fish oil – be either certified as sustainable, in an assessment, applying for certification, or a part of the MarinTrust Improver Program by 2025. The two organizations own collectively the MarinTrust Standard for Responsible Supply, MarinTrust Chain of Custody for Responsible Supply, MarinTrust Improver Program, Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and Best Seafood Practices (BSP) certification programs.
“Collaboration in areas that are common to all standards, including digitalization and assurance, is a fantastic way to provide assurances to the full aquaculture value chain, from the origin of feed ingredients to the end consumer,” MarinTrust CEO Francisco Aldon said.
As part of the agreement, GSA agreed to help MarinTrust develop and expand its multispecies criteria, allowing the organization to assess fisheries where multiple species are caught at the same time. So far, one fishery improvement project – the Gulf of Thailand mixed-trawl fishery – has been accepted into a multispecies pilot program, according to the GSA.
The organizations also agreed to provide representation on each other’s governing committees, and have inked a deal to collaborate on developing and implementing a digital system “to allow interoperability between both organizations,” GSA said.
The new MoU, according to GSA, “formalizes a long-standing relationship between GSA and MarinTrust and directly benefits the global seafood value chain by providing end-to-end assurances through third-party auditing and certification.”
Photo courtesy of GSA/Melanie Siggs
