CREATING THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD FOR THE TRADE IN LIVE REEF

FOOD FISH

PROJECT GOALPROJECT GOAL

Build stakeholders consensus on what "best practices"

needed.

Establishing limitations of acceptability of an International Standard through

extensive informal and formal consultations with industry, relevant

government and non-government organizations and expertise in the

LRFFT in both SE Asia and the Pacific

ADULT CAPTURE

JUVENILE CAPTURE

FINGERLING CAPTURE

BROODSTOCK CAPTURE

Wild Harvest

SUPPLY SIDE

HATCHERY

NURSERY FRY \ FINGERLING FARM GROWOUTPOND OR CAGE

Aquaculture

EXPORTER

Market Size

Sub-market Size

Scope of the Live Reef Food Fish Standard

DEMAND SIDE

IMPORTER RETAILERWHOLESALER

RETAILERWHOLESALEREXPORTER / IMPORTER

IMPORTER / WHOLESALER RETAILEREXPORTER

IMPORTER / WHOLESALER / RETAILEREXPORTER

CONSUMER

STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT PROCESSSTANDARDS DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Multi-stakeholder involvement achieved through:• Expert workshops• Standards Advisory Group• In-country consultative seminars and workshops• In-country field-testing

1st internal draft standard produced

by project team

1st external draft standard produced

by project team

1st draft reviewed by small ‘expert

group’

Feedback

Review by multi-stakeholder

standards advisory group (SAG)

Draft reviewed at workshops and in-country seminars and consultations

In-country field-testing and review of draft standards

Ongoing revision of draft standard by

project team

Final draft of International LRFFT

Standard

International LRFFT Standard finalized

International LRFFT Standard-supporting

documentation and implementation CD

finalized- Period 1 - Period 2 - Period 3 - Period 4

RT’s Kick off with Objectives & Principles

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD – OBJECTIVESINTERNATIONAL STANDARD – OBJECTIVES

• Promote sustainable harvesting / production of fishery resources

• Be compliant with existing local and national (and international) authorities

• Recognize rights of fishers and other stakeholders

• Ensure stakeholder cooperation and involvement

• Recognize socio-economic, gender and poverty issues

STANDARDS STRUCTURESTANDARDS STRUCTURE

• A Principle type approach was adopted in recognition of the need for the Standard to be a concise document

• A Standard that consists of bullet criteria with underlying descriptors

• A Standard augmented by supporting documentation including implementation guidance

The International LRFFT Standard

FINAL STANDARDS HIERARCHYFINAL STANDARDS HIERARCHY

• A compendium cross-referenced to the Standard through the Requirements consisting of: • Best-Practices for each Requirement• LINKS to existing implementation guidance

• The Standard comprised of bullet criteria or “Requirements”

WEBSITEWEBSITE

http://www.livefoodfishtrade.org

IS THERE A NEED TO STRENGTHEN THE

INTERNATIONAL LRFFT STANDARD?

• The Standard is 5 years old.

• Perception and acceptance of “Responsible” Fisheries has moved on in 5 years.

• Is The Standard Still Needed?

• Is The Standard Still Relevant?

• Are there lessons to be learnt from other programs to strengthen The Standard ?

Who Should Take The Lead?

• NGO’s

• Consumers

• Government

• Demand Side – Trade Associations

• Supply Side – Fishers Groups

• ALL OF THE ABOVE

IMPLEMENTATION OPTIONSIMPLEMENTATION OPTIONS

• Establish multi-stakeholder “ROUNDTABLE” to manage implementation of the LRFFT Standard

• Maintain LRFFT Standard as a “living document” subject to revision and elaboration

• Conduct industry gap analysis along ‘Chain of Custody’

• Conduct outreach, capacity building and extension training programs

Roundtable outlook

FSCFSC

MSCMSC

Lessons from Roundtables

• Must have strong champions with stamina• Manage expectations of stakeholders on timelines• Balanced Representation, along value chain, is

important• Guard the consensus process jealously• Be aware “Race to the bottom”• Technical challenges will be a constant but political will

help.• Have a “can-Do” attitude• Have money for dedicated secretariat• MUST have a methodical, professional facilitators

1. Engage governments to introduce incentives for such MSI’s such as waivers of duties/taxes in lieu of certification,

2. Design a Monitoring and Evaluation Programme against the desired objectives of the standard. Design this from the very beginning

3. Ensure enough resources are allocated to a professionally run a Roundtable. It should have KPIs.

Components of Roundtable by..

INSANITY is: Expecting Different Results by INSANITY is: Expecting Different Results by doingdoing the same things repeatedly the same things repeatedly

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSIONOBJECTIVE

Develop a credible and robust Standard for the Live Reef Food Fish Trade by building broad consensus on

“best-practices” needed to enhance industry sustainability

• Extensive and open multi-stakeholder consultative process has guided Standards development over project duration;

• Initial lack of support for concept overcome by inclusive approach to the Standards development

• Platform has been created for ongoing efforts to transform destructive aspects of the LRFFT

• Integrated supporting documentation (i.e. CD Toolkit) will facilitate more extensive dissemination of the Standard

• Dedicated website will enable wider stakeholder access to the Standard and ensure longevity

IMPLEMENTATION OPTIONSIMPLEMENTATION OPTIONS

Possible implementation frameworks:– Industry member self-declaration (First-party

certification)• Maintains status quo - no improvement in current

practices• Seen as ‘greenwash’ and has no credibility

– Trade association compliance (Second-party certification)• Very difficult and expensive to run a credible

program• Often becomes a lowest common denominator rather

than best practice program• Seen as an exclusive club for members only

– Independent accreditation (Third-party certification)• Highly credible as transparent, independent and

includes third party verification• Can be expensive and difficult to implement in the

artisanal sector without specialist capacity building for certification