Source: ISSF
Yesterday Atuna.com reported that the US canned seafood company Crown Prince had just issued a statement claiming that the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is moving towards creating a logo for product packed by participating companies and that the logo would be used at shelf level to alert consumers to the sustainable status of product.
In a reaction by email, the ISSF stated it is not a fisheries certification body and therefore is not developing an eco-label for tuna product marketing.
As its mission, ISSF is committed to supporting fisheries working toward improvements. ISSF also supports eco-labels developed by certification bodies, so long as those programs meet the guidelines for eco-labeling set forth by the FAO.
Currently, a prominent eco-label within the tuna industry is the dolphin-safe logo, also used by most of the ISSF member companies. Recently, at the World Tuna Conference in Bangkok, a representative of the Earth Island Institute confirmed that its dolphin-safe logo did not meet the FAO guidelines for eco-labeling. ISSF leaves it to the judgment of its individual members which eco-labels they decide to use, whether they meet the FAO guidelines or not.