What are indicators and why do they matter?
In short:
Indicators are how we make sustainability visible, and VeriFish is how we bring that visibility to the entire value chain — from net to plate.
Seafood labels often tell you what species you’re buying — but rarely how it was produced, what impact it had, or why it matters.
- Was the fish sustainably caught or overfished?
- Were the workers treated fairly?
- Is it rich in nutrients — or low in quality?
- Was the farming process climate-smart, or resource-intensive?
These are the questions that consumers, retailers, educators, and policymakers are asking more and more — and the answers require more than logos or buzzwords.
Indicators are verified pieces of information — drawn from scientific data, regulatory sources, or structured assessments — that help translate complex realities into measurable facts.
They can tell us things like:
How healthy a fish population is
How much CO₂ was emitted to produce a kilo of shrimp
Whether the workers on a vessel have labour protections
If a product meets minimum nutritional standards for a public meal program
By grouping these indicators under our three sustainability pillars — Environmental, Socio-Economic, and Nutritional — VeriFish provides a structured, transparent way to:
Understand and compare seafood products
Reveal trade-offs between choices
Identify best practices
Support responsible producers
Empower consumers and stakeholders with real, usable information
The three sustainability pillars of VeriFish
What makes seafood truly sustainable? It’s not just about protecting fish. It’s about ecosystems, workers, and public health — together.
At VeriFish, we define sustainability through three interconnected pillars:
- Environmental
Socio-Economic
Nutritional
Each pillar is supported by concrete, measurable indicators that reveal how seafood is produced, distributed, and consumed — and what that means for our planet, our communities, and our diets.
This structure allows us to translate complexity into clarity. It helps consumers, producers, educators, and policymakers understand seafood sustainability at a glance — based not on vague claims, but on verified, transparent criteria.
How does seafood production affect nature, ecosystems, and the climate?
This pillar measures the ecological footprint of seafood, whether it comes from a wild fishery or a farm. It covers everything from overfishing and bycatch, to pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal welfare.
We separate environmental indicators into two tailored systems:
Fisheries: Focused on stock status, habitat impacts, bycatch, and management.
Aquaculture: Focused on water use, escapes, feed, pollution, and farmed fish welfare.
Together, these indicators answer key questions:
Is this product contributing to biodiversity loss — or helping preserve it?
Is it aligned with climate goals — or working against them?
Does it disrupt marine ecosystems — or fit within them?
This pillar reveals the environmental truth behind the product — and shows exactly where change is needed.
Who wins, who loses, and who gets a say in how seafood is produced?
Seafood is more than just food — it’s work, culture, and identity for millions. But across the globe, that system can involve injustice, exploitation, and opacity.
This pillar puts people at the centre of sustainability, focusing on:
Labour rights and safety: Are conditions fair? Are protections in place?
Governance and legality: Is the product linked to illegal or unregulated fishing?
Equity and inclusion: Are women, migrants, and Indigenous communities respected?
By surfacing these realities, the socio-economic pillar ensures seafood sustainability isn’t just green — it’s fair, transparent, and human.
What does seafood actually contribute to human health — and who gets access to it?
Seafood offers critical nutrients that support cognitive development, cardiovascular health, and food security — but its nutritional value depends on species, diet, freshness, and how it’s processed or cooked. Access is not equal, and affordability remains a barrier in many regions.
This pillar will assess:
Nutrient density across species
Relevance to public health goals
Affordability and accessibility in real-world diets
It will connect seafood policy with nutrition equity — and show how seafood can be part of the solution to undernutrition, malnutrition, and diet-related disease.
I want to know more about the Pillars
How we built the VeriFish indicator framework
From scientific principles to practical tools — building a framework that works for everyone.
The VeriFish indicator framework wasn’t built overnight. It is the result of a multi-disciplinary, multi-actor effort — bringing together expertise from marine biology, fisheries governance, aquaculture science, environmental policy, nutrition, data systems, and human rights.
We started with a question:
How can we measure seafood sustainability in a way that is meaningful, reliable, and easy to understand — without oversimplifying or distorting the truth?
To answer it, we followed a four-stage process:
We reviewed over 100 existing sustainability standards, frameworks, certifications, and scientific publications — from the FAO and OECD, to EU policy tools, to grassroots initiatives.
We asked:
- What is already being measured — and what’s missing?
- Where are the gaps between science, policy, and consumer understanding?
- What makes an indicator useful — not just accurate, but actionable?
This benchmarking helped us define the scope and ambition of VeriFish: not to replace existing systems, but to connect them, explain them, and make them visible in a common language.
We organised our framework into three core sustainability pillars:
- Environmental
- Socio-Economic
- Nutritional
Each pillar was broken down into sub-pillars that reflect real-world impact areas (e.g., stock status, habitat impact, labour conditions, nutrient content).
Each sub-pillar includes specific indicators, designed to be:
- Measurable: Based on available or collectable data
- Relevant: Connected to real impact and policy needs
- Interpretable: Easy to explain and communicate
- Scalable: Usable across production systems, countries, and seafood types
This modular structure allows the framework to be adapted to different users and contexts — from retail buyers to public procurement officers to educators.
You can read more here:
VeriFish Indicator Framework defined- D2.1
We didn’t stop at design. We applied the indicator system to real case studies across Europe and beyond — including wild fisheries, offshore farms, small-scale producers, and imported products.
We validated:
- Which indicators are consistently available
- Which ones create the most friction or confusion
- Where producers need more support to provide data
- How users respond to different visualisation methods (scores, traffic lights, narratives)
This step led to key improvements in scoring logic, data hierarchy, and communication strategy.
You can read more here:
Indicator Framework Developed – D2.2
From the start, VeriFish was built with — not just for — its users. We conducted workshops, interviews, and public sessions with:
- Seafood producers and cooperatives
- Retailers and distributors
- NGOs and certification bodies
- Public authorities and procurement teams
- Consumer advocacy groups
- Indigenous and coastal communities
This feedback loop shaped everything from terminology and layout to the balance between quantitative and qualitative indicators.
A framework that is:
- Science-based, but not academic
- Transparent, but not overwhelming
- Flexible, but still comparable
The VeriFish indicator framework is not static. It is a living system, updated as new data emerges, as policies evolve, and as users push for greater clarity and impact.
In other words: it’s built to last — and built to change.
What these indicators can tell you
More than numbers — VeriFish indicators reveal the full story behind your seafood.
Sustainability isn’t a single score, label, or claim. It’s a complex reality, shaped by ecosystems, working conditions, governance systems, and nutritional relevance.
That’s why the VeriFish indicator framework is designed not to simplify—but to translate.
Each indicator provides a piece of the puzzle: measurable, verifiable, and context-specific. Together, they help you answer the real questions that matter across the seafood value chain.
The Bigger Picture
Each indicator alone gives you a signal. But combined, they reveal a pattern — a sustainability profile that shows not just how seafood was produced, but what it means for the future.
VeriFish is more than a database. It’s a lens.
And when you look through it, you see the full picture.
Know what you’re buying — and what it stands for.
VeriFish indicators show:
If the fish you’re buying is from a well-managed stock or at risk of collapse.
Whether it was caught using methods that damage habitats or harm endangered species.
How much carbon was emitted during its production and transport.
If it was farmed using excessive antibiotics or in overcrowded conditions.
Whether the workers who harvested it were protected and paid fairly.
How nutritious the product is — beyond vague “healthy choice” claims.
Whether you’re shopping at a fish counter or ordering in a restaurant, these indicators let you make choices aligned with your values — climate, health, fairness, or all of them at once.
Benchmark your practices. Show what you’re doing right — and where to improve.
VeriFish helps seafood producers:
Identify gaps in traceability, governance, or welfare practices.
Showcase best practices in climate action, circularity, or labour rights.
Meet growing demands from retailers, regulators, and informed consumers.
Prepare for future certifications or audits using a transparent scoring baseline.
For small-scale producers and cooperatives, VeriFish offers an entry point into verified sustainability without needing to adopt full certification schemes upfront.
De-risk procurement. Build trust with your customers.
With VeriFish, you can:
Compare suppliers based on specific, verifiable indicators.
Screen out products linked to illegal fishing or poor welfare.
Communicate clearly with consumers using recognised sustainability metrics.
Support sourcing policies aligned with EU Green Deal, Farm to Fork, and SDG commitments.
This is sustainability beyond marketing — it’s traceable, defendable, and structured.
Inform procurement, regulation, and strategic planning.
VeriFish indicators support:
Green public procurement frameworks
Sustainability requirements in school meals, hospitals, and public kitchens
Monitoring progress on biodiversity, climate, and food security goals
Harmonising EU sustainability assessments across seafood value chains
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. VeriFish creates a common language for evidence-based decisions.
Make sustainability visible and teachable.
Use VeriFish as a tool to:
Illustrate how seafood systems connect environment, economy, and health
Teach students how to interpret real-world indicators
Engage citizens in informed food system conversations
Evaluate and communicate the trade-offs between seafood options
How to use this information
Sustainability isn’t static — it’s a set of choices. VeriFish helps you navigate them.
The data and indicators presented in VeriFish aren’t just for reading. They’re meant to be used — to support decisions, challenge assumptions, and reshape how seafood is produced, valued, and consumed.
Whether you’re making purchasing decisions, building a policy, or communicating with customers, the value lies in how you act on the information.
Use the information to choose better, demand better, and build better.
That’s what makes data meaningful — and sustainability real.
There’s no such thing as a perfect product.
Every seafood item carries a footprint, a context, and a consequence. One fish may score well environmentally but poorly on labour rights. Another might be nutritionally excellent but linked to habitat degradation.
VeriFish doesn’t simplify this — it maps it. It allows you to understand trade-offs transparently and choose based on what matters most to you or your institution.
Whether you’re speaking to customers, suppliers, colleagues, or students, indicators are powerful entry points to discuss:
Where seafood comes from
Why sustainability is complex
How responsible practices can be verified — not just claimed
This framework gives you the vocabulary, structure, and evidence to move beyond greenwashing and toward clear, confident communication.
VeriFish indicators can inform:
Procurement scorecards
Labeling schemes
Traceability audits
Educational modules
Internal sustainability assessments
Because the structure is modular and open, you can use only the indicators that fit your scope — or expand the framework to match your ambition.
Sustainability is not a finish line — it’s a process.
Use the indicators not just to evaluate current performance, but to monitor change over time. Are scores improving? Are gaps closing? Are producers responding to feedback?
This is how VeriFish becomes more than an assessment tool — it becomes part of a continuous improvement system.
No single actor owns sustainability. Fishermen, farmers, processors, distributors, retailers, consumers, and regulators all shape outcomes.
VeriFish gives each of them access to the same core facts — building a shared language for trust, responsibility, and collaboration.
Common questions about the VeriFish Indicator framework
🔹Why are some indicators not available for every product?
Not all seafood products come with the same level of traceability or data availability.
For example, a small-scale local fishery may not have detailed carbon footprint calculations, while a certified farmed salmon product might. This doesn’t mean one is better — it just means that data transparency varies depending on region, species, and governance systems.
🔹 Are higher scores always “better”?
Not necessarily. A “high” score doesn’t always mean something is positive — it depends on the type of indicator.
For example:
A high carbon footprint is negative
A high nutritional value is positive
A low antibiotic use is positive
VeriFish uses standardised scales and colour codes (e.g. traffic lights) to help you understand what each score means.
🔹 Can a product score well in one pillar but poorly in another?
Yes — and that’s why we use a multi-pillar framework.
A fish may be environmentally sustainable but come from a fishery with poor labour rights.
Or it may be nutritionally excellent but heavily reliant on fossil fuels during transport.
No single indicator tells the full story — the strength of VeriFish is in showing the trade-offs and interactions.
🔹 What happens when there’s missing data?
We always indicate when an indicator cannot be scored due to lack of reliable data.
We don’t guess or assume. If something is unverified or unverifiable, we label it transparently so users can make informed choices — and so producers know where to improve reporting.
🔹 Are these indicators recognised at EU or international level?
Many of our indicators are aligned with EU policies, such as the Common Fisheries Policy, Farm to Fork Strategy, and the Sustainable Blue Economy framework.
We also draw from FAO, WHO, OECD, and scientific literature – adapting and translating these into usable formats for consumers and value chain actors.
🔹 Who decides how these indicators are scored?
Scoring is developed by VeriFish partners, including scientists, sustainability experts, and food system analysts.
We rely on peer-reviewed science, verified databases, and transparent criteria – and we’re continuously refining our methods in response to new evidence and stakeholder input.
🔹 How do I use this information as a consumer?
Use the scores and facts to:
Compare seafood products based on your values (climate, nutrition, fairness, etc.)
Ask better questions at fish counters or restaurants
Support producers who demonstrate transparency