Proving environmental sustainability

The environmental certification project is all about promoting and improving the management and environmental performance of New Zealand fishing and aquaculture.

While New Zealand already has a good reputation for the sustainable management of our natural resources, we need to build on that by becoming a world leader in demonstrating the environmental performance of our fisheries.

The Ministry is seeking an independent assessment of how well our fisheries management system addresses sustainability and other environmental issues. The assessment will also provide information that can support the certification or other independent assessment of individual fisheries.

Assurance of environmental sustainability, like assurance of food hygiene and safety, is becoming simply another part of doing business.

The government has set up a contestable certification fund to encourage the New Zealand fishing and aquaculture industries to demonstrate and improve on their environmental performance through independent certification.

An environmental certification or assessment undertaken by an independent organisation, such as the Marine Stewardship Council, is one way to demonstrate that a fishery is harvested in a sustainable way. Environmental certification also contributes to the clean, green ‘Brand NZ’ and increases public confidence that fishing and aquaculture are managed well.

However, certification can be costly. There is the certifier or assessor to pay as well as staff time preparing information to support the application and sometimes travel. In recognition of this, the certification fund has been set up to help those seeking certification with up to 50 percent of these costs. The fund is not limited to any one environmental certification or assessment scheme or provider – so long as it’s independent and credible.

The Ministry will also be compiling and presenting further information on the environmental sustainability of a range of New Zealand wild-caught and farmed seafood. This information will be complete, transparent and science-based. And it will be presented in a way that is easily accessible to the public, seafood buyers and independent assessors.