FOS - Friend of the Sea

Friend of the Sea certification guarantees the quality of fishery products and facilitates aquaculture activities towards sustainable fisheries and breeding, in order to:

• diversify fish products, associating them with a sustainability message
• ensure the sustainability of fishing for large retailers and buyers
• document the origin of fish caught or raised according to the environmental requirements, fish stocks and lists of threatened or protected species
• demonstrate the commitment of operators to environmental sustainability and legislative compliance.

Regulatory Focus

The certification is based on the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union, which includes a set of tools to protect the natural renewal of fishery resources and the marine ecosystem, and the sustainable management of fishing activities by operators from all the Member States.
It is a process that covers all the players in this industry: from fishing companies to aquaculture facilities, from production plants to the catering chains.

Service Details

Applies to:

• fishing and aquaculture
• flour, fish oil and feed
• production, distribution and catering companies

Some of the main requirements to the fishing industry:

• safeguarding over-exploited species
• waste containment
• reduction of impact on the sea and river beds
• compliance with regulations (TAC, not IUU)
• emission reduction policy

Some of the main requirements to the aquaculture industry:

• safeguarding the surrounding environment
• containment of accidental escape of fish and fishing
• respect for water quality parameters
• antifouling, exclusion of GMO and growth hormones
• gradual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions

The Assessment Team:

• auditors and fish professionals (biologists, fishermen, experts in fishing methods and regulations). 

Why RINA?

RINA has carried out over sixty audits worldwide using the FoS scheme, for different types and species of fish such as:

• fishing: Pacific salmon in Alaska and Kamchatka, blue fish in Croatia and Morocco, clams in Turkey, molluscs and crustaceans in Scandinavia;
• aquaculture:  seabass, sea bream and umbrina in Italy, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and France, sturgeon and trout in Italy, mussels in Norway;
• production chain: production of fish oil in the United States and Scandinavia, processing of blue fish, tuna and salmon in Morocco, Italy, Croatia, and Poland.

Q&A

What is the credibility of FoS certification?
The FoS requirements follow the FAO Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fishery Products. Friend of the Sea only certifies products that are not derived from over-exploited stocks.

Does the certificate require preparing many documents?
FoS certification is relies on a series of very specific verifications that assess the organisation’s operating methods and compliance with the regulations. Therefore, the documents required are essentially those required by law.

For info related the standard in force please refer to the website