RFVS RECEIVES FINAL BOARD APPROVAL

RFVS Receives Final Board Approval – Both Seafish and Global Seafood Assurance Boards have now approved the draft Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard.

Marcus Coleman, Chief Executive of Seafish and GSA Board member said, ‘We are delighted to have the RFVS approved by both Boards and look forward to publicly releasing the Standard in partnership with GSA soon.’

Seafish and GSA entered into an agreement in April 2018 to collaboratively develop the next iteration of the standard previously known as the Responsible Fishing Scheme, to internationalise it, and to hand over ownership from Seafish to GSA in May 2020.

Following nearly two years of robust process, the development of the RFVS has been guided by input from all sectors of the seafood industry from across the UK and internationally (Catching, Processing, Retail, Standard Holder and NGOs).

The transparent process has been overseen by an independent Oversight Board and supported by Technical Working Groups comprising over 30 seafood stakeholders. Using ILOc188 and other global conventions as a base, the draft standard went through three important steps ahead of its presentation to the Seafish and GSA Boards for sign off; firstly it was scrutinised by the independent Oversight Board and international experts around the world; secondly, on-vessel consultation audits took place in the UK, the Faroe Islands, in Russia and in Peru, and finally, the draft went through a 60 day public consultation.

“It has been a privilege to work with my fellow oversight board members through such a rigorous, open and transparent process. RFVS certification is a great way for proud skippers to demonstrate how they look after their crew and their catch, so a big thank you to Seafish and GSA for your leadership” commented Nigel Edwards, Group CSR Director, Hilton Food Group

The first specialist auditor training took place in Scotland in February 2020 to upskill specialist auditors to the requirements of the new standard. The next steps are the Vessel Certification Pilots. These have been arranged in Russia, the Faroes and in the UK with further pilots being planned in SE Asia and South America.

“Building a standard to help address crew welfare on fishing vessels around the world is an important first step in addressing a critical gap in seafood supply chain assurance” said Ally Dingwall, Aquaculture and Fisheries Manager at Sainsbury’s and GSA Board Member “We need to acknowledge those working to Best Practice and identify those not yet working at that level. We will learn more as we start using the standard which will help us collectively address the welfare of those crews catching our seafood, where necessary”

About GSA: Global Seafood Assurances (GSA) is a not-for-profit organization launched in 2018. Its goal is to create access to seamless, end to end, assurance for seafood connected to robust and transparent traceability at each stage. It aims to provide end-to-end quality assurance for all seafood by creating standards where gaps exist, working with other standard holders where possible, and collaborating to build robust traceability for all.

For more information email Melanie Siggs, GSA Strategic Director melanie@seafoodassurances.org