THE FIP PROJECT
Fisheries Improvement Projects are multi-party initiatives that aim to improve the sustainability, practices and management of fisheries to meet the standards set by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and MarinTrust certifications.
ACCEPTANCE OF A FIP
For a FIP to be accepted on the Fishery Progess platform, (https://fisheryprogress.org/directory), it must be transparent and consistent with the achievement of measurable results. The key elements of a FIP project are:
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Carring out a pre-assessment according to MSC and MarinTrust standards,
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Developing an improvement action plan,
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Writing and sharing regular reports on progress,
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A mechanism to independently verify progress,
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A clear timetable and deadline, usually not exceeding 5 years,
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A strong commitment to achieving MSC and MarinTrust sustainable fishing certifications.
PRE-EVALUATION
OF THE TARGETED STANDARDS
A pre-assessment of the Small Pelagic fishery in Mauritania according to the MarinTrust (formerly IFFO-RS) standard had been carried out at the launch of the FIP, in 2018. Since then, a new assessment according to the MSC standard has been completed, early 2021. Both pre-assessments can be viewed here :
Both standards follow complementary approaches, criteria and scoring systems:
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stock status,
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resource management strategy,
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control and monitoring at sea and at unloading points,
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impact on protected species and the environment,
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and governance that meets the needs of the fishery and allows all industry stakeholders to participate.