IRFM Standard: 30 days public comment period 13 October - 12 November
IRFF is pleased to announce that the IRFM Specification for the Certification of Icelandic Fisheries, first issued in 2010, is now available for a 30 days public comment 13 October - 12 November 2015.
Iceland Responsible Fisheries Foundation (IRFF), on behalf of its members and the fishing community of Iceland, is pleased to announce that the Iceland Responsible Fisheries Management Specification for the certification of Icelandic fisheries, first issued in 2010, is now available for a 30 days public comment prior to its formal 5 year review by the IRFF Technical Committee.
Interested parties should follow the link and instructions for the submission of comments.
Background information
The main objective of IRFM Certification is to allow IRFF to transparently demonstrate that fisheries management and practices in Iceland are conducted responsibly in a credible and internationally recognized manner to the criteria specified by the FAO.
The Icelandic Responsible Fisheries Management (IRFM) Specification is a certification Standard based on the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and on the FAO Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries adopted in 2005 and extended in 2009. The IRFM standard was originally facilitated by the Fisheries Association of Iceland (FAI) but in February 2011, IRFF, a non-profit NGO, took over the operation and management of the IRF certification programme from the FAI. Before the first final issue in 2010, the specification was published for a 60 day period for public and stakeholder review and comment (See FAO 2005/2009 Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries, Article 57).
The Iceland Responsible Fisheries Foundation (IRFF) is the standard owner and the IRFF Technical Committee is responsible for writing, issuing and reviewing the IRFM standard.
IRFF has received full accreditation for their IRFM Standard for fisheries management certification. The accreditation is to the internationally recognised ISO/IEC Guide 65 Standard for certification of product and process schemes.
The accreditation assessment was carried out by an International Accreditation Forum (IAF) member, the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB).
The IRFF Technical Committee has representation from throughout the supply chain and interested parties including; Members from The Fisheries Association of Iceland, The Marine Research Institute; Market Representatives; Fisheries Iceland; National Association of Small Boat Owners; The Ministry of Industries and Innovation and The Directorate of Fisheries.
Stated in the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the IRFF Technical Committee, the responsibility of the committee is i.a. to conduct a review of the standard at least every 5 years.
Prior to the formal review of the standard the IRFF Technical Committee will announce a 30 days public invitation for interested parties to comment on the present day IRFM standard. Received comments will be considered by the IRFF Technical Committee and the final draft Standard will, in due course be made available for a further 60 day second public comment period prior to the its’ adoption.
The Committee will consider all comments based on their content and objectiveness, with respect to providing an improvement in the effectiveness of the Responsible Fisheries Management Certification consistent with the overall objectives of IRFF. The decision to adopt, amend or review the standard and the timeframe that such consideration will be made will remain under the direction of the Technical Committee. The Committee does not intend on providing individual written response to comments. Instead, the response to comments will be the review activities, proposed amendments and any subsequent revisions to the standard agreed under the procedural rules of its mandate.
Link to submission of comments
For further information contact Finnur Garðarsson, finnur@irff.is