The third-party certification body, Global Trust, grants the certification.
RFM
The Certified Seafood Collaborative (CSC) has announced that the US Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery (white, brown, and pink shrimp) for all five Gulf states and federal waters is the first shrimp fishery certified to the Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Standard.
The third-party certification body, Global Trust, grants the certification as indicated in the Final Assessment Report.
The RFM Certification requires fisheries to meet RFM Standard criteria which evaluate fisheries in four key areas:
The fisheries management system.
Science and stock assessment activities, and the precautionary approach.
Management measures, implementation, monitoring, and control.
Serious impacts of the fishery on the ecosystem.
Regarding this achievement, the president of the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA), Trey Pearson, expressed: "We are proud to achieve RFM Certification. It’s a positive reflection of our harvesters' practices on the water and their work to ensure our shrimp is sustainably harvested."
"With RFM Certification we now have independent validation of that fact from a program recognized by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), enabling us to better meet our customer’s sourcing requirements," he added.
On the other hand, CSC RFM Board Chair, Mark Fina said: "Congratulations to the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) and the entire Gulf of Mexico shrimp industry for meeting RFM's comprehensive fishery standard. As the largest shrimp fishery in the U.S., it’s a testament to its sound fisheries management and commitment to the sustainability of their fishery."
For years, collaboration has been encouraged between the fishery, the local shrimp industry, management agencies, and NGOs.
To achieve this standard, the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Supply Chain Roundtable, the Audubon Nature Institute, and the Texas Sea Grant have supported multiple Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs).
The Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery joins the Pacific Whiting fishery and eight Alaska fisheries that are RFM-certified.
Precisely, Pearson indicated: "At a time when domestic shrimp is only 6-8% of the total US market share, being able to easily distinguish not only sustainable but also US product through a verified, traceable, front-of-package label is a top priority for the Gulf shrimp industry."
The Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification program is owned by the Certified Seafood Collaborative (CSC), a non-profit foundation made up of a diverse board of seafood and sustainability experts.
The RFM Certification program is founded on the strongest and most widely acknowledged international standards and practices. It is the most credible sustainable seafood certification program that features origin on its logo and doesn’t charge logo licensing fees.
RFM was the first sustainability eco-certification program to be benchmarked and recognized by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).
