Legislation Measures

Surveillance plans should be included in the good practices’ certification. The creation and agreement under the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) frame or any national initiative like the Asociación Española de Normalización (UNE) should be the basis for the good practices’ certification. The certification of adopted good practices to reduce and prevent the potential non-organic litter or debris should be encouraged by positive economical stimuli, such as tax reduction or fiscal incentives The regulation related to gear design and material selection (to ensure resistance and durability) should be the basis for the good practice criteria certification Good practice certification systems based on rates and indicators of waste removal and recycling schemes. With labelling, also CE standards for high quality products can be introduced by national legislation. With labelling, also CE standards for high quality products can be introduced by national legislation. In consequence, low-quality products, e.g. coming from non-EU countries/regions like Asia can be enclosed in the EPR schemes and made liable (at least in theory) – in a mid to long-term perspective, this may force non-EU countries to produce better quality as well. There should be more clarity about the label of “alternative”: material characteristics need to ensure full biodegradability in marine environments, which requires criteria on material degradation and related timeframe relative to the specific environmental conditions. A sustainable label on seafood supports the food and consumer value chain. These labels need to be universal at EU level. Sustainability criteria related to sustainable labels still need to be examined to ensure maximum sustainability. As far as labels are concerned, incorporating certain measures into an existing label is better than creating a new label. In this way, people do not get drown in the variety of labels. Include a common criterion that will cover debris from aquaculture in the international ASC/MSC standards, such as e.g. the handling, disposal and managing non-biological waste from production. Product standardization must be applied at EU level for national producers but also for imported materials (i.e. impose the same measures on producers abroad). Certification of materials is absent at the moment but could be implemented in a sustainability label for materials. It would be beneficial to have a framework and certification for waste management in companies, managed by the farmer of as part of the official environmental procedures (e.g. Including key performance indicators (KPI’s)) Global Certification System - Certification – criteria on plastic use and recycling to be included in the aquaculture production standards