Seafish has launched a period of public consultation for a draft revision of its two Responsible Fishing Scheme standards in advance of the standards going forward for full ISO 17065 accreditation.
The Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS), which was launched by Seafish in 2006 to reward responsible fishing practices on vessels, is being revised to ensure it remains fit for purpose and helps the industry work towards a “more transparent and ethical” supply chain.
<spancalibri”,”sans-serif”;>“The revised Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme will be the only independently audited global certification scheme for vessels and, as such, is one of the few ways that seafood buyers can be assured they are sourcing from ethical and responsible boats,” said Tom Pickerell, technical director, Seafish.
<spancalibri”,”sans-serif”;>The modification of the current RFS standard has been developed in line with ISO 17065 accreditation requirements that will give the certification programme for these revised RFS standards additional transparency and credibility.
<spancalibri”,”sans-serif”;>“Our experience tells us that standards developed with industry and key stakeholder feedback work better for them and the public consultation is an important part of the process. These views will provide good evidence when the new RFS standards are submitted for full ISO 17065 accreditation,” added Mike Platt, director, RS Standards.
<spancalibri”,”sans-serif”;>The process began with a multi-stakeholder Oversight Board who agreed on the key areas for the RFS standards and how they could be used to enhance the long-term vitality of the UK fishing industry.
<spancalibri”,”sans-serif”;>Since February 2014, three technical work groups made up of industry experts, have been working to develop the new standards, focusing on multiple crew vessels, single-handed vessels.
<spancalibri”,”sans-serif”;>In addition to the public consultation, which ends on 25 September 2014, Seafish has issued a tender for a Certification Body to build an ISO 17065-compliant certification programme to certify vessel applicants when the new scheme officially launched in June 2015.
