The Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) certification programme has expanded the geography of its Fishery Standard to include fisheries from around the world, with the extension expected to provide further choice in wild-capture sustainable fishery certification.
When the RFM Certification programme first began in 2010, it was focused on assessing Alaska fisheries. In 2020, the owners of the RFM programme, the non-profit Certified Seafood Collaborative (CSC), expanded the standard to include fisheries from North America.
“Since RFM expanded to North America with Pacific whiting in 2020, and most recently with US Gulf of Mexico Shrimp, we’ve seen a growing interest from fisheries across the globe looking for choice in wild-capture certification,” CSC Chair Mark Fina said.
“The global expansion of RFM Fishery Standard V2.2 ensures that well-managed wild-capture fisheries from anywhere can have a certification choice and the opportunity for assessment against our standard.”
RFM said it aims to provide accessibility without the burden of logo licensing fees and that this ensures everyone in the supply chain with Chain of Custody can showcase their commitment to sustainability and responsible practices without financial strain.
“As our programme grows, we remain dedicated to prioritising origin on our label at no cost. We ensure the RFM logo is customisable per the fishery origin,” RFM Programme Manager Jeff Regnart said. “Currently, Pacific Whiting and US Gulf Mexico Shrimp use our USA version, while Alaska fisheries use our Alaska version. As global fisheries are assessed and determined well-managed, we will customise our logo to accommodate their regional call-out.”
RFM was the first sustainability eco-certification programme to be benchmarked and recognised by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI)
