After a year-long assessment process, Japan’s Marine Eco-Label (MEL) certification standard, which has recently become the primary standard for many of the country’s feed producers, received recertification approval from the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) under Version 2.0 of its Global Benchmark Tool.
The MEL certification was created in 2007 to promote its recognition in the Japanese market, with the aim to gain wider acceptance and to respond to the needs of foreign markets to promote the export of sustainable Japanese seafood. More than 70 Japanese operators, including CGC Japan, Sojitz, Nissui, Nicherei, Marubeni, and Mitsubishi have MEL certification, with a dozen holding certification for both fisheries and distribution and processing. The certification and its label are not used outside of Japan, though MEL leadership has stated its intention to expand into the broader Asian market in the future.
The certification is based on the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the FAO Guidelines for the Eco-labeling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries, and the FAO Guidelines for the Eco-labeling of Fish and Fishery Products from Inland Fisheries. MEL-Japan is owned and operated by the Marine Eco-Label Japan Council, which is funded by the Japan Fisheries Association, a trade group for Japan’s fishing industry.
After growing in popularity in advance of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, a further shift toward MEL certification becoming the primary standard in Japan came after many Japanese feed producers belonging to the Japan Fish Feed Association announced in June that they would not be applying for certification under updated Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standards – the association’s previously preferred certification – due to stricter rules regarding the traceability of byproducts in feed.
Many of the feed producers said that to meet ASC standards, they would have to build a separate, dedicated production line, which they believed to be economically unfeasible. Feed producers can operate under the old ASC standards until early 2025, but most have chosen to not apply for certification under the new standards once they enter into force.
MEL Council Secretary General Hisanori Kanno said there were a few significant changes between GSSI Benchmark 1.0 recognition and its updated 2.0 version. Alterations in the new guidelines are still important for both feed producers and fish farmers to consider, however.
“The changes that impacted our scheme most were related to feed,” he said. “For example, the new requirements change the ingredients not [to be] used in the feed from ‘whole fish’ to ‘raw fish.’ This means that moist pelleted feed may be categorized as ‘raw fish,’ so our new aquaculture standard requires [farmers] not to use moist pelleted feed regularly during the rearing period.”
This affects feed producers and farmers who aligned with the original version, which allowed for the use of moist pelleted feed. Version 2.0, conversely, does not allow for this type of feed except for special circumstances like feeding at low temperatures, facilitating medication, and quality enhancement.
MEL applicants must now specify such conditions if they plan to continue using moist pelleted feed. Version 1.0 is in effect until 31 July, 2025, allowing for a transitional period in which producers and farmers must convert to the regulations set out in the new version.
“They [farmers] have to change feeding systems, shifting from moist pelleted feed to manufactured compound feed,” Kanno said. “We highly expect farmers to innovate their feed operations. However, some farming of carnivorous fish such as bluefin tuna or kampachi amberjack may be unable to transit to manufactured feed due to economic or technical reasons.”
The updated MEL standard will have traceability requirements but may consider a “mass balance” system to account for sustainable inputs and outputs, rather than requiring strict segregation.
A mass balance system tracks the number of sustainable inputs and allows a producer to claim the corresponding amount of sustainable output without physically segregating the two as the new ASC standards call for. ASC also explored the idea of mass balance in a 2014 whitepaper on the topic, but its new standard ultimately did not allow for its use within fishmeal production.
GSSI recognition is important for MEL, Kanno said, because a few major Japanese supermarket chains require it for inclusion in their sustainable purchasing programs.
“JCCU [Japanese Consumers’ Cooperative Union] and Seven & I Group established seafood procurement policies that mention expanding GSSI-recognized schemes’ eco-label products – not specific eco-labels such as MSC [Marine Stewardship Council] or ASC – up to the target level,” Kanno said.
It’s also important, Kanno said, because it raises awareness of sustainability efforts in Japan.
“It is a big step toward making the Japanese aware of the importance of sustainable seafood caught or farmed domestically long term,” he said. “Other retailers and even food service operators will gradually follow the movement the same as we [have seen] in Western countries.”
Kanno said that it would take at least a year to complete the updated standard, related documents, and the certification and accreditation system and also notes that the GSSI re-recognition applies only to MEL and not to Japan’s Aquaculture Eco-Label (AEL) certification.
MEL joins eight other certification schemes currently recognized by the GSSI: Certified Seafood Collaborative’s Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM), Iceland Responsible Fisheries Management (IRFM), Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture, Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Audubon Gulf United for Lasting Fisheries (G.U.L.F.), and BIM-Certified Quality Aquaculture (CQA).
Photo courtesy of MEL Japan Council
