The Certified Seafood Collaborative is announcing that the U.S. Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery — white, brown and pink shrimp — for all five Gulf states and federal waters has achieved Responsible Fisheries Management Certification. This is the first shrimp fishery certified to the RFM Standard.

RFM Certification requires fisheries meet RFM Standard criteria, which evaluate fisheries in four key areas: A) the fisheries management system; B) science and stock assessment activities, and the precautionary approach; C) management measures, implementation, monitoring and control; D) serious impacts of the fishery on the ecosystem. Third-party certification body Global Trust awarded the certification after a thorough evaluation of the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp fishery as reported in the Final Assessment Report.

“Congratulations to the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) and the entire Gulf of Mexico shrimp industry for meeting RFM’s comprehensive fishery standard. As the largest shrimp fishery in the U.S., it’s a testament to its sound fisheries management and commitment to the sustainability of their fishery,” said Mark Fina, CSC RFM Board chair.

Trey Pearson, ASPA Board president, said, “We are proud to achieve RFM Certification. It’s a positive reflection of our harvesters’ practices on the water and their work to ensure our shrimp is sustainably harvested. ASPA has long been confident in U.S. fishery management and practices. With RFM Certification we now have independent validation of that fact from a program recognized by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), enabling us to better meet our customer’s sourcing requirements.”

Pearson said, “Finally, we are excited about the ability to highlight the USA origin with the RFM eco-label, something that matters not only to us but also to so many of our customers and consumers of Gulf Shrimp. At a time when domestic shrimp is only 6-8% of the total US market share, being able to easily distinguish not only sustainable but also US product through a verified, traceable, front-of-package label is a top priority for the Gulf shrimp industry.”

Achieving RFM Certification was a culmination of years of collaboration and fishery improvement work among the shrimp industry, management agencies and NGOs. For 15 years, multiple industry-led Fishery Improvement Projects, supported by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Supply Chain Roundtable, Audubon Nature Institute and Texas Sea Grant, worked diligently to implement changes needed to the fishery to ready it to pursue and successfully achieve RFM Certification.

The Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery joins the Pacific Whiting fishery and eight Alaska fisheries that are RFM-certified.

Earning RFM Certification shows the fishery’s commitment to the long-term health of the Gulf shrimp ecosystem, the communities that depend on it and the customers seeking sustainable seafood.

Source: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute