SEAFOOD SAVERS INITIATIVE, A GATEWAY TOWARDS GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE AQUACULTURE CERTIFICATION  

Niki Nofari*, and Candhika Yusuf
WWF-Indonesia
Gedung Graha Simatupang Tower 2 Unit C Lantai 7
Jl TB Simatupang Kav 38, Jakarta 12540
nnofari@wwf.id
 

The global fisheries trend nowadays demands seafood products that are produced with responsible capture and cultivation methods, the kind of methods that have been developing very rapidly. The shift of consumption pattern solely depends on consumers' awareness. While it has not fully happened all over the globe, this shift of consumption pattern significantly contributes to changing the fisheries supply chain pattern, where producers would be required to fulfill various criteria that the market asks for. One of the effective ways to ensure that a fishery product is produced with eco-friendly method is through certification mechanism. The existence of certification labels, also known as eco labels, gives consumers the assurance they need to choose the best products for them, and also opens up a new market for producers. Indonesia, as one of the biggest aquaculture producer countries, has also been experiencing this emerging trend. Consumers have been urging the industry to obtain certifications for various fishery products, even though the cost to implement aquaculture practices improvement and for the certification process itself is far from affordable.

As a part of WWF-Indonesia's strategy to educate producers to start practicing responsible aquaculture and capture practices, WWF-Indonesia initiated Seafood Savers Program that was established in 2009. Seafood Savers acts as a bridging mechanism for industry players to achieve standard and criteria of fisheries related eco-label certifications, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for capture fisheries, and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) aquaculture fisheries. The MSC and ASC certifications have been set as references which criteria are considered capable to ensure the sustainability of capture and aquaculture practices. A company has to pass 7 membership stages to be officially considered a member of Seafood Savers, from application, to the implementation of Fisheries Improvement Program (FIP) and/or Aquaculture Improvement Program (AIP) that are suitable with the company's fishery business commodity.

To this day, there are 6 fishery companies in Indonesia that are registered as members of the Seafood Savers initiative. In regards to the implementation of AIP, 7 ASC standard principles that revolve around the company and practices legality, management and protection of ecosystem, biodiversity and freshwater sources, social and labor issues, efficiency of feed usage and other energy resources, and also the health of aquaculture animals, have been used as reference for the development of aquaculture practices work plan. The improvement of level of compliance with the ASC standard is regularly assessed in every 6 months, in June and December. As per December 2015, the level of compliance of AIPs with ASC standard that have been implemented by Seafood Savers members, have reached 60% of compliance, a significant improvement from the previous period 40% of compliance.

Fishery producers in Indonesia can gain benefits from Seafood Savers program, to prepare themselves to face the increasing demand for product certifications, as a part of adaptation strategy to adjust with the global market pattern that demands eco-friendly and responsible seafood products.