How can individual countries in seafood supply chains maximize effectiveness of catch documentation schemes? This study suggests that monitoring is key in flag, coastal and end-market states, whereas country-level traceability is critical in port and processing states.
Since the mid-1990s, traceability has become a popular concept in industrial logistics, regardless of the production regime and type of product. Implementing traceability systems across the food supply chain is seen as crucial for increasing food quality and safety, for optimizing production or for documenting sustainability. However, implementation of traceability systems in the seafood sector seems to be stagnating. Against this backdrop, the main objective of this study is to define and analyse in detail seafood traceability benefits related to regulatory compliance, supply chain management improvements, market access facilitation, and risk mitigation. To support this objective, the study collects and compiles policy incentives from governments and industry associations to encourage the establishment of company seafood traceability. In addition, this study updates information regarding existing traceability standards and norms serving various purposes in the seafood sector. Based on a thorough analysis of speciality literature and the extensive experience of the authors, this study formulates several recommendations that are relevant for a wide range of stakeholders in the seafood sector.
This book outlines the evolution of food traceability matters in the current traditional foods market and particularly with regard to selected historical foods based in Jordan. At present, traceability is just one of the many requirements the food industry is forced to meet. The topic can be approached from various angles: regulation, technological perspectives, food business operators, packaging manufacturers, software producers, and consumer views. In addition, traceable food products provide an interesting legacy for many geographical and ethnic cultures. Consequently, the examination of certain recipes or food products linked with history and traditions can make a unique and valuable contribution to future developments in this area. In this regard, Jordanian foods offer a prime example. This book examines three traditional products from different viewpoints, paying special attention to their chemical composition, the identification of raw materials, preparation procedures, and traceability. The book begins with a more general discussion on food traceability without detailed regional implications, while the second chapter discusses the product hummus in its many versions. In turn, the third and fourth chapters focus on two fermented dairy products, labaneh and jameed, and their connections with the Mediterranean diet. The book offers a valuable reference guide to many traditional/historical products in the Middle East, with a particular focus on traceability matters and solutions.
This literature review on seafood ecolabels in Asia looks into the concerns of producers, exporters, and consumers and identifies barriers to implementation. It stresses the need for tailored policies and government-led capacity building initiatives.
Since 1984, the FAO GLOBEFISH project (through a project unit established within the Fishery and Aquaculture Department of FAO www.fao.org/in-action/globefish) has been providing Governments, national and international stakeholders with relevant data, information and knowledge on fish trade in order to assist them in designing and implementing efficient and inclusive market and trade strategies. These strategies contribute to the sustainable development of the fish trade sector (including the economic, social and environmental aspects) and, at the same time, contribute to improving food and nutrition security and strengthening livelihood opportunities and are directly linked to SO4. The publication contains a detailed quarterly update on market trends for a variety of major commodities. Combining the price information collected for the European Price Report with other market survey data collected by FAO GLOBEFISH, the report provides a detailed update on market trends for a variety of major commodities. Key market data is presented in a time series tabular or graphical form with written analysis of trends and key events and news affecting commodities such as tuna, groundfish, small pelagics, shrimp, salmon, fishmeal and fish oil, cephalopods, bivalves and crustacea.
This book analyses a selection of challenges in the implementation and application of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), focusing on several areas: international organizations, fisheries, security, preserving marine biodiversity, dispute settlement, and interaction with other areas of international law. UNCLOS has been described as the Constitution for the Oceans. It sets out the fundamental rights, obligations and jurisdictions of States regarding the access to, uses and management of the oceans and seas and their resources. It balances States’ diverse and sometimes conflicting interests, such as conflicting uses of space, against navigational interests and the protection of the marine environment. UNCLOS is the first global treaty to include comprehensive obligations on the protection and preservation of the marine environment, including the conservation of living marine resources. These are often common or cross-border challenges, which can only be addressed through international cooperation. The book is divided into three thematic parts. The first concerns the role of international organizations in ocean governance. It includes twelve chapters covering a very diverse set of issues, both materially and geographically, that demonstrate the importance of coordinated actions on the part of multiple States for obtaining harmonized solutions regarding the pursuit of activities in maritime spaces (in connection with e.g. navigation, fisheries or maritime security). The second part concerns the relevance of dispute settlement mechanisms for understanding the international law of the sea and the international legal framework within which the actions of the great maritime powers take place. It is composed of three chapters, examining stakeholders’ role in dispute settlement, the position taken by China and the Russian Federation regarding international litigation in maritime spaces, and how the South China Sea Award may be relevant to the debate on the international legal concepts of rock and island. In turn, the third part addresses current discussions on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Its seven chapters report on the status quo of the ongoing negotiations for a new international legal regime of the high seas, and the establishment and operationalization of environmental regimes for international maritime spaces.
Innovation through information and communication technologies is a key enabler in transforming food systems and holds great potential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Recent developments, such as mobile technologies, smart networks, drones, remote-sensing, distributed computing, as well as disruptive technologies, such as blockchain, the Internet of things and artificial intelligence, are serving as the premise for a “digital revolution” whereby management of resources can potentially be highly optimized, intelligent and anticipatory. This publication establishes chain traceability as the substrate over which digital solutions need to operate. It provides a comprehensive introduction to blockchain, and covers smart contracts, explores how they relate to blockchain with an example of their use in seafood value chains, and then examines major development and operational considerations for blockchain applications. The publication also analyses the seafood supply chain with considerations on flag, coastal, port, processing and market States. It identifies general control elements (critical tracking events and corresponding key data elements) that form the basis for traceability monitoring and acquisition, and summarizes suitability for blockchain. It also investigates considerations for legality, transparency, species fraud and food safety.
This paper discusses the potential value of catch documentation schemes (CDS) in deep-sea fisheries, and the implementation aspects that have to be taken into account to ensure the effectiveness of this trade-based tool to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The paper argues that the schemes are indeed useful for addressing IUU fishing practices known to occur in deep-sea fisheries, and that their adoption would improve compliance with fisheries management requirements. Key infringements that could be directly detected and addressed include - but are not limited to - violations of closed areas harbouring protected vulnerable marine ecosystems in the deep ocean, and quota overfishing. The paper also establishes the notion that partial coverage of given species through a CDS at the level of regional fisheries management organizations is incongruous. Given that most deep-sea fisheries species have broad distributions that straddle many regional organizations, the most suitable implementation model appears to be a centrally operated electronic CDS platform - called a super-CDS - shared by a plurality of institutional and state players.
Catch documentation schemes (CDS) are just one in an array of tools designed to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The schemes provide a means for countries to cooperate in providing information about the legality of fish as it moves through the supply chain, from catch to market. Many countries are familiar with the specific information requirements on CDS forms; some, however, are less aware of the need for robust national systems to validate and verify that information. This document seeks to align and improve existing national monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) tools, as well as product tracking systems, in order to support more effective national CDS implementation and strengthen CDS throughout the international supply chain. The document contains chapters on the legal and policy background to CDS, an introduction to the features and requirements of existing schemes, as well as guidance on how to handle CDS information requirements and identify national key data elements. Finally, it provides a series of exercises for assessing relevant national capabilities and coordination processes, including the management and exchange of information.
The importance of small-scale fisheries for sustainable livelihoods and communities, food security, and poverty eradication is indisputable. With the endorsement of the ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries’, FAO member states recognize that governments, civil society organizations, and research communities all have a role to play in helping small-scale fisheries achieve these goals. This book argues that policies targeting small-scale fisheries need to be based on a solid and holistic knowledge foundation, and support the building of governance capacity at local, national, and global levels. The book provides rich illustrations from around the world of why such knowledge production needs to be transdisciplinary, drawing from multiple disciplinary perspectives and the knowledge that small-scale fisheries actors have, in order to identify problems and explore innovative solutions. Transdisciplinarity for Small-Scale Fisheries Governance: Analysis and Practice, edited by Ratana Chuenpagdee and Svein Jentoft, successfully demonstrates how small-scale fisheries are important and what social and political conditions are conducive to their wellbeing. The volume contributes tremendously to building capacity of fisheries communities and policy-makers to make the ideals of small-scale fisheries a reality. It establishes the ecological, social, and economic sense behind small-scale fisheries. A milestone reference for all those who believe in small-scale fisheries and are keen to defend them with quality evidence! — Sebastian Mathew, Executive Director, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) The Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines guiding principles call for holistic and integrated approaches for their implementation. This book will help a new generation of scientists, policy-makers, and small-scale fisheries actors make the fundamental connections between different disciplines in science, traditional knowledge, and policy to guide a collective process towards sustainable small-scale fisheries. The book contains an inspiring collection of practical cases from around the world, complemented by deep dives into dimensions of small-scale fisheries, like food security, stewardship, climate change, and gender, which all call for transdisciplinary approaches. — Nicole Franz, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Rome, Italy