The Scottish port of Peterhead has become the first fishing port to attain certification under the Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme (RPFS), following the successful completion of an independent audit.
Launched by U.K. public body Seafish in July 2018, the voluntary RFPS program is designed to demonstrate responsible food safety and good operational practices within the country’s fishing ports and harbors. It was developed in consultation with the U.K. seafood industry to raise standards across fishing ports and to provide assurances to seafood buyers and sellers that certified fishing ports are acting in a responsible manner with regards to the products landed or sold.
The RFPS is also intended to complement other standards recognizing best-practice within the industry.
Marcus Jacklin, RFPS project manager, said the rationale behind the scheme comes from an increasing need for assurances and transparency across the seafood supply chain and fishing ports.
“The certification of Peterhead port is an excellent first step in the rollout of the scheme and we would welcome any other ports now interested in applying for accreditation to get in touch,” said Jacklin.
John Forman, harbor master at Peterhead, said that people at the port had worked extremely hard in recent years to improve the infrastructure and operations in order to add value to the seafood supply chain.
“The award is further proof that Peterhead is synonymous with delivering on the highest quality in seafood,” he said.
At present RFPS is open for applications from large fishing ports with an auction or direct sale function. Seafish said development of another version of the scheme targeted at small ports is also underway.
