Global Seafood Assurances (GSA)

From labour standards on-board fishing vessels to food safety in processing plants, the Global Aquaculture Association’s new Global Seafood Assurances (GSA) standard is seeking to create an all-encompassing group of certifications addressing every major aspect of sustainability in the seafood industry.

GSA, through its affiliation with GAA, already has a robust assurance program for aquaculture farming and processing in the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program. Over 2019, the organization has worked to expand that model into capture fisheries processing.

On 11 June 2020 GSA rolled out the second version of the Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS). The new Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard covers the safety and legality of vessel operations, as well as social and labour issues.

GSA is also working on initiatives concerning animal welfare and mitigating climate change, as well as a leadership program called SOLI that that will focus on environmental issues, particularly climate change. It is also looking into worker voice.

GSA spotlights ‘worker Voice’ in fight to ensure fair labour standards. 14 December 2020. A new white paper, Worker Voice on Fishing Vessels, commissioned by GSA is offering a comprehensive look at the tools and resources that exist to ensure social welfare on board the world’s fishing vessels. The paper documents the initiatives, organisations, and projects available around the world that offer fishing crews a means to voice concerns, have influence over matters that affect them in the workplace, and have access to third party advice and grievance mechanisms for remediation. It also identifies common definitions and terms used to describe these concepts.

Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) formed by a merger of the Global Aquaculture Alliance and Global Seafood Assurances organisations (14 April 2021). The new name reflects the merger and the non-profit organisation’s growing involvement in wild fisheries through the addition of the Seafood Processing Plant Standard (SPS) Issue 5.0 and the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS). 

Significance for seafood businesses: 

A seafood-specific initiative. Sourcing seafood that is accredited to a standard that has a social component provides reassurance that the seafood you are purchasing has been independently verified concerning social issues.

Find out more

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