Understanding the environmental impact of seafood production
This pillar looks at how seafood production affects marine ecosystems, biodiversity, climate, and animal welfare. It distinguishes between:
-
Wild Fisheries, which rely on extracting fish from natural populations
-
Aquaculture, which raises seafood in controlled environments
Each system faces unique risks and pressures, and VeriFish uses different indicators for each to capture these differences in a fair and transparent way.
The goal is not to label products as “good” or “bad,” but to show where impacts occur, how serious they are, and what can be improved.
Environmental Pillar – Fisheries
Fisheries involve catching seafood directly from natural ecosystems — oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. Their sustainability depends on factors such as stock health, bycatch levels, gear types, and fishing pressure.
Unlike farms, wild fisheries must work within the limits of nature. That’s why strong science, careful regulation, and ecosystem awareness are crucial to avoid overexploitation and collapse.
VeriFish indicators for wild fisheries help assess how responsibly we’re harvesting from the wild — and whether we’re doing enough to ensure there’s seafood left for future generations.
This pillar is divided into 5 Sub-pillars:
- Stock Status
- Ecological impact
- Climate impact
- Governance
- Welfare
Each of the Sub-pillars is composed by different indicators that help understand the status.
Stock Status
Are fish populations healthy and sustainably exploited?
This sub‑pillar evaluates whether fishing pressure allows fish populations to reproduce and remain stable over time.
Evaluates whether a species is underfished, fully fished, or overfished.
Example: A hake population below safe biological limits is overfished.
Measures if fishing removes more fish than the stock can replenish.
Example: A tuna stock may look abundant, but unsustainable removal rates can trigger collapse.
Ecological Impact
What else is affected when we catch fish?
Fishing does not only affect target species — it can impact non‑target species, habitats, and food webs.
Unintended species caught, including undersized fish or vulnerable marine life.
Example: Shrimp trawlers often catch juvenile fish or turtles.
Impact on endangered, threatened, or protected species.
Example: Seabirds like albatrosses are at risk from longline hooks.
Assesses how often fishing gear is lost at sea.
Example: Ghost nets continue trapping marine life long after being lost.
Evaluates damage to habitats like coral reefs or seagrass beds.
Example: Bottom trawling can flatten seabed ecosystems.
Measures changes to the marine food web caused by removing certain species.
Example: Overfishing predators like cod can lead to boom-bust cycles of prey species.
Climate Impact
How much climate pollution is generated by fishing?
Assesses greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of fish landed.
Example: Fuel-intensive distant-water fleets have higher emissions than coastal fisheries.
Governance
Are fisheries properly managed and regulated?
Good governance is essential for sustainability — even well‑designed rules are useless if not enforced.
Checks whether catch reporting is supported by onboard observers or digital tracking.
Example: Fisheries using satellite data score higher on monitoring.
Verifies whether scientific data is collected and used for management.
Example: A fishery with no recent assessment is considered high-risk.
Evaluates efforts to prevent harm to protected species.
Example: Use of bird-scaring lines in longline fisheries.
Assesses whether quotas are science-based and respected.
Example: Unregulated fisheries lack catch ceilings and often overfish.
Checks if fisheries avoid or repurpose unwanted catch.
Example: Selective gear and full-utilisation policies improve scores.
Reviews national or regional laws and their enforcement capacity.
Rates the risk of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
Example: Blacklisted vessels or ports reduce a product’s trust.
Recognises third-party sustainability certifications.
Example: MSC, ASC, or other verified eco-labels.
Welfare
How are fish treated during capture and killing?
Fish welfare is increasingly recognised as part of sustainability.
Assesses stress and injury caused during the capture process.
Evaluates on-board treatment, from handling to storage.
Checks if methods reduce suffering before death.
Environmental Pillar – Aquaculture
Aquaculture refers to the farming of fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants under human-managed conditions. It’s the fastest-growing food production sector globally — and increasingly essential for meeting protein demand.
However, aquaculture comes with its own sustainability challenges: water use, pollution, disease risk, escapes, and animal welfare.
VeriFish indicators for aquaculture focus on resource efficiency, environmental protection, and humane treatment of farmed animals — helping consumers and regulators identify which farms are doing it right.
The environmental Aquaculture pillar is divided into 7 Sub-pillars:
- Animal welfare
- Biosecurity
- Climate impact
- Habitat impact
- Impact on Marine Food Webs
- Resource use
- Waste and Pollution
Each of the Sub-pillars is composed by different indicators that help understand the status.
Animal Welfare
Are farmed fish raised and slaughtered humanely?
Are fish stunned before killing?
Example: Electrical stunning methods score higher than ice slurries.
Do fish have room to swim and behave naturally?
Example: High density increases stress, disease, and aggression.
Biosecurity
How are diseases managed and risks controlled?
Assesses whether genetically modified feed ingredients are used.
Evaluates antibiotic use and resistance risk.
Climate Impact
How much impact does the production site to climate?
Measures emissions from feed, energy use, and transport.
Habitat Impact
How much impact does the production site the surrounding ecosystems?
Assesses damage to local ecosystems.
Example:
Shrimp farms replacing mangroves score poorly.
Impact on Marine Food Webs
How much impact does the production site to the trophic food webs?
-
Assesses risk of farmed species escaping and affecting wild populations.
Example: Escaped farmed salmon may outcompete wild stocks.
.
Resource Use
How much ecological resources does the production site use?
Measures water use relative to output.
Example: Tilapia farming in arid zones may strain local resources.
Waste and Pollution
How much residues and how they interact with the environment does the production site?
Assesses reuse of waste streams.
Measures nutrient and waste discharge into the environment.