NOAA moves closer to establishing new seafood eco-label

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is inching closer to establishing its own sustainable seafood certification.

After years of debate and many meetings, the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) was tasked with outlining what it would take to create a NOAA sustainable certification for US wild-caught and aquaculture fishery products.

Last December, MAFAC submitted its recommendation to NOAA, stating the certification should be a fee-for-service program, not reliant on new appropriated funds or taking financing away from existing programs and or services; its focus should be business-to-business, not consumer-based; and its framework should rely on the 10 National Standard principles laid out in the Magnuson-Stevens Act.