Friend of the Sea wasstarted by Paolo Bray, following over 20 years experience as European Manager of the Earth Island Institute

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2 Friend of the Sea wasstarted by Paolo Bray, following over 20 years experience as European Manager of the Earth Island Institute ( Dolphin-Safe project ( The Earth Island Institute is an NGO based in Berkleys California USA and founded by Da vi d Brower, considered the most i nfluential US environmentalist of the past century (candidate 3 times as Nobel Peace price). The Earth Island Institute works as an incubator for both conservation and huma nitarian projects. One of the most internationally known projects is the Dolphin- Safe tuna project. 2

3 The Dolphin-Safe tuna project was started by the Earth Island Institute in the early 90s. Since the 50s the industrial tuna fishery had killed approximately 7 Million dolphins, decimating the localpopulations. In the Eastern Tropical Pacific, between Baja California a nd Peru, big Yellowfin tuna swims frequently associated with dolphins and dolphin schoolsare used to spot tuna. Dolphins are scared and grouped by explosives thrown from helicopters and they are then caught together with tuna and tangled and suffocated in the nets. 3

4 Sam La Budde, a marine biologist workingfor the Earth Island Institute, managed to film the killingof dolphins and the footage was aired in the main US TV stations. The 3 main tuna producers, Starkist, Bumble Bee a nd Chicken of the Sea engaged to s top handling tuna caught by setting nets on dolphins. They also engaged at allowing Earth Island Institute International Monitoring Program audit and verify they factories and vessels. Currentl y the International Monitoring Program is the main environmental monitoring network and certified ISO9001 for quality a nd ISO for envi ronmental ma nagement system. 4

5 Over 400 companies worldwide, includingretailers, shipowners and tuna canneries, pa rti cipate to the Dolphin-Safe project and allow monitoring by the IMP. Approximately 90% of the worldwide tuna industry participate to the project. Full lists are available at phinsafetuna.org 5

6 The Earth Island Institute International Monitoring Program, together with the collaboratingcompanies have managed to lower dolphin mortality in the ETP by 98% from a bout dol phins killed yearly to the current dolphins killed. Only few compa nies still fish tuna by s etting nets on dolphins, harassing the dwindling populations and increasing mortality. 6

7 The Earth Island International Monitoring Program is a network of dedicated onsite and onboard observers which verify that the traded tuna is not caught by setting nets on marine mammals. 7

8 Over 700 s potchecks a re run onsite by the Earth Island Dolphin-Safe monitors every year a nd non conformities are dealt with i n order to discourage continuing trade of tuna caught by harmingmarine mammals. 8

9 Images of audit carried out in China, India, Seychelles, Philippines. 9

10 Images of audit carried out in China, India, Seychelles, Philippines. 10

11 Images of audit carried out in China, India, Seychelles, Philippines. 11

12 Ima ges of tuna products worldwide ca rrying the Earth Island Institute registered Dol phin-safe l ogo 12

13 While the Dolphin-Safe program expanded its certification requirements to include criteria such as no use of driftnets and no shark finning, Paolo Bray and other environmentalists part of the Earth Island Institute and other NGOs realized that more i mpacts could be determined by the fishing industry worldwide. 13

14 Furthermore the availability of wild aquatic speciesreached a maximum towards the end of l ast century a nd aquaculture grew dramatically to cope with the growing worl dwide seafood demand. 14

15 Aqua culture itself could have s ome impact on the habitat. Friend of the Sea products could be farmed in both inland tanks as wellas off-shore cages, as long as the farming / aquaculture plant has elminiated all environmental impacts, such as those ones descirbed in the image. In pa rticular (see more on document Cri teria for Aquaculture Products Certification ): -The pl ant must have undergone a n Environmental Impact Assessment before development -Escapesrisk must be negligible -Byca tch ri sk must be negligible -Feed must come from Friend of the Sea Approved Fisheries or from tri mmings/by-cuts -Feed Conversion Ratio ca nnot be more than 1:1 -No GMO, No hormones -No del ivery by a irfreight. 15

16 Friend of the Sea wasfounded in 2008 and it is a non profit NGO. It developed the major international certification program for products from sustainable fisheries and a quaculture. The range of products available on the international market included fresh, frozen, smoked, canned seafood, omega-3 supplements, fishmealand fishoil, fishfeeds. 16

17 Requirements for Friend of the seafisheries certification are the following(detailed info a nd checklists are a vailable from the website): -The fish stock target of the fishery cannot be considered as overexploited by the Regional Fishery Bodies (RFMOs). Biomass must be above Biomass at Maximum sustainable Yield and Fishing mortality must be below Fmsy. -The fishing method must be selective, so maximum 8% discards are acceptable and no Redlisted species (considered by the IUCN redlist as Vulnerable or worse) can be norma lly bycaught by the fishery. -The fishing method cannot impact the seabed and in case of bottom trawlers evidence ha s to be provided by an independent institute that the fishing method has a negligible i mpact on the seabed, following conservation measures. -The fleet has to be compliant with allapplicable environmentalregulations (Total Allowable Catches, no IUU pirate vessels, etc) -Soci al Accountability i s also verified and fuel efficiency recommended. 17

18 Friend of the Sea sustainable aquaculture requirements are similar to bio/organic but do not include requirements such as animal welfare and impact of the outside environment on the production. Emphasis is given to the potential impact of the site on the environment at time of development of the site itself. 18

19 Friend of the Sea is the NGO that owns the scheme and logo royalties. An independent Technical Committee can propose changes to the criteria and vote for them on majority. The National Accreditation Body ACCREDIA verifies and accredits the work done by the International Certification Bodies which run the Friend of the Sea audit: SGS; Bureau Veri tas, etc. This way Fri end of the Sea complies with the EU Regulation for a ccreditation and certification, as wellas the FAO Guidelinesfor the Ecolabeling of Products from Fisheries. 19

20 The Audit process includes a Preliminary Evaluation of the State of the Stock (fisheries). In case the audit is authorizes, an onsite audit is organized and run by the Certification Bodies. The onsite audit results are integrated with the data from literature and specific studies on the fishery. 20

21 A full time 100% observers presence is requested onboard the tuna seiners and longliners and other major freezer vessels 21

22 In alternative CCTVs system can be applied. This is the case of the Friend of the Sea tuna fleets in the Indian Ocean. 22

23 Friend of the Sea manuals are used bythe independent observers onsite. 23

24 Currently over 400 companies have products certified Friend of the Sea 24

25 from 48 Countries 25

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27 Over 50% of the Friend of the Sea certified products originates from small scale and/or artisanal fisheries production. 27

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29 In some cases the small fishermen s cooperatives have been awarded for their Friend of the Sea certification. 29

30 Friend of the Sea supports small scale producers aiming for certification. 30

31 A list of certified products and approved companies is available and updated on the website 31

32 Retailand Catering chains with private label products certified Friend of the Sea 32

33 Over 1000 products are labelled Friend of the Sea on the shelves of several major retail chains in Europe. 33

34 Approved companies and producers are promoted on the major international media. 34

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38 Friend of the Sea regularlysupports selected conservation programs and sponsors environmental projects, such as beach cleaning. 38

39 School Laboratories on Sustainabilityhave been developed in Europe and Asia 39

40 Friend of the Sea hero cartoon has been developed for better communication and students awareness. 40

41 Friend of the Sea responsible Whale Watching certification has been developed as a pa rallel initiative. 41

42 On the wave of the success of Friend of the Sea, a project for certification of products from sustainable agriculture has been developed. 42

43 Some products have already passed the certification test and are available on the market carryingthe Friend of the Earth s ecolabel 43

44 A Website wi th full information is a vailable at 44

45 All Friend of the Earth s checklists and procedures are available on the website. 45

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