CREATING THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD FOR THE TRADE IN LIVE REEF FOOD FISH

PROJECT GOAL Build stakeholders consensus on what "best practices" needed. Establishing limitations of acceptability of an International Standard through extensive informal and formal consultations with industry, relevant government and non-government organizations and expertise in the LRFFT in both SE Asia and the Pacific

ADULT CAPTURE JUVENILE CAPTURE FINGERLING CAPTURE BROODSTOCK CAPTURE Wild Harvest SUPPLY SIDE HATCHERY NURSERYFRY \ FINGERLING FARM GROWOUT POND OR CAGE Aquaculture EXPORTER Market Size Sub-market Size Scope of the Live Reef Food Fish Standard DEMAND SIDE IMPORTERRETAILERWHOLESALER RETAILERWHOLESALEREXPORTER / IMPORTER IMPORTER / WHOLESALERRETAILEREXPORTER IMPORTER / WHOLESALER / RETAILEREXPORTER CONSUMER

STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Multi-stakeholder involvement achieved through: Expert workshops Standards Advisory Group In-country consultative seminars and workshops In-country field-testing

RT’s Kick off with Objectives & PrinciplesObjectivesPrinciplesSpecifics

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD – OBJECTIVES Promote sustainable harvesting / production of fishery resources Be compliant with existing local and national (and international) authorities Recognize rights of fishers and other stakeholders Ensure stakeholder cooperation and involvement Recognize socio-economic, gender and poverty issues

STANDARDS STRUCTURE A Principle type approach was adopted in recognition of the need for the Standard to be a concise document A Standard that consists of bullet criteria with underlying descriptors A Standard augmented by supporting documentation including implementation guidance

The International LRFFT Standard

FINAL STANDARDS HIERARCHY A compendium cross-referenced to the Standard through the Requirements consisting of: Best-Practices for each Requirement LINKS to existing implementation guidance The Standard comprised of bullet criteria or “Requirements”

WEBSITE

IS THERE A NEED TO STRENGTHEN THE INTERNATIONAL LRFFT STANDARD? The Standard is 5 years old. Perception and acceptance of “Responsible” Fisheries has moved on in 5 years. Is The Standard Still Needed? Is The Standard Still Relevant? Are there lessons to be learnt from other programs to strengthen The Standard ?

Who Should Take The Lead? NGO’s Consumers Government Demand Side – Trade Associations Supply Side – Fishers Groups ALL OF THE ABOVE

IMPLEMENTATION OPTIONS Establish multi-stakeholder “ROUNDTABLE” to manage implementation of the LRFFT Standard Maintain LRFFT Standard as a “living document” subject to revision and elaboration Conduct industry gap analysis along ‘Chain of Custody’ Conduct outreach, capacity building and extension training programs

Roundtable outlook FSC MSC

Lessons from Roundtables Must have strong champions with stamina Manage expectations of stakeholders on timelines Balanced Representation, along value chain, is important Guard the consensus process jealously Be aware “Race to the bottom” Technical challenges will be a constant but political will help. Have a “can-Do” attitude Have money for dedicated secretariat MUST have a methodical, professional facilitators

1.Engage governments to introduce incentives for such MSI’s such as waivers of duties/taxes in lieu of certification, 2.Design a Monitoring and Evaluation Programme against the desired objectives of the standard. Design this from the very beginning 3.Ensure enough resources are allocated to a professionally run a Roundtable. It should have KPIs. Components of Roundtable by..

INSANITY is: Expecting Different Results by doing the same things repeatedly

CONCLUSION OBJECTIVE Develop a credible and robust Standard for the Live Reef Food Fish Trade by building broad consensus on “best- practices” needed to enhance industry sustainability Extensive and open multi-stakeholder consultative process has guided Standards development over project duration; Initial lack of support for concept overcome by inclusive approach to the Standards development Platform has been created for ongoing efforts to transform destructive aspects of the LRFFT Integrated supporting documentation (i.e. CD Toolkit) will facilitate more extensive dissemination of the Standard Dedicated website will enable wider stakeholder access to the Standard and ensure longevity

IMPLEMENTATION OPTIONS Possible implementation frameworks: – –Industry member self-declaration (First-party certification) Maintains status quo - no improvement in current practices Seen as ‘greenwash’ and has no credibility – –Trade association compliance (Second-party certification) Very difficult and expensive to run a credible program Often becomes a lowest common denominator rather than best practice program Seen as an exclusive club for members only – –Independent accreditation (Third-party certification) Highly credible as transparent, independent and includes third party verification Can be expensive and difficult to implement in the artisanal sector without specialist capacity building for certification