Eco-labeling for Seafood Under FAO Auspices

                    IFCNR has worked for the past two years to promote the concept of placing

                    responsibility for determining the environmental compatibility of commercial

                    seafood products in the competent and credible hands of the Food and

                    Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

                    Eco-labels created by seafood industry associations or organizations, no matter

                    how scrupulous the standards, lend themselves to the perception and criticism

                    that they are little more than self-serving, meaningless, window-dressing to

                    increase corporate profits. 

                    Similarly, labeling schemes offered by non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

                    lack credibility because of the perception that they are "fund-raising" schemes or

                    a means for an NGO to exert economic and ideological influence over an industry.

                    FAO's mandate is to over see global efforts to reduce hunger and feed the world.

                    Insuring a secure and sustainable food supply, by definition, requires care and

                    conservation of the resources from which that food is derived.  Therefore the twin

                    mission of feeding the hungry and protecting Nature's resources are compellingly

                    compatible with FAO, an international agency steeped in experience of dealing

                    with the production, processing and distribution of food.