About us > About us
Friend of the Sea is a non-profit non-governative organisation (NGO), whose mission is to conserve the marine habitat.
Friend of the Sea was founded by Dr Paolo Bray - European Director of the Earth Island Institute's Dolphin-Safe Project . The Dolphin-Safe Project saved millions of dolphins from dying in the tuna nets and started the sustainable seafood movement.
Friend of the Sea is now a main international certification project for products originating from both sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
Certified products from all continents include most of the traded species, fishmeal, fishfeed and Omega-3 fish oil.
Products and their origins are audited onsite by independent international certification bodies, against strict Friend of the Sea sustainability criteria.
Friend of the Sea Criteria follow the FAO - Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries. In particular, only products from stocks which are NOT OVEREXPLOITED can be certified (Art. 30 FAO Guidelines).
Friend of the Sea has deployed an International Monitoring Program to verify onsite the Chain of Custody of approved suppliers of Friend of the Sea products.
In line with the FAO Guidelines, Friend of the Sea pricing structure is affordable also to artisanal fisheries and small-scale producers, which represent over 50% of the Friend of the Sea certified products.
Certified Products
Useful Links
- Aquatic species databases
- Aquaculture
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Fisheries
- > Fisheries and aquaculture country profiles
- > IUU Vessels List in CCAMLR Oceans around Antartica
- > IUU Vessels List in IATTC Eastern Tropical Pacific
- > IUU Vessels List in IOTC Indian Ocean
- > IUU Vessels List in NAFO North West Atlantic
- > IUU Vessels List in NEAFC North East Atlantic
- > IUU Vessels List in ICCAT Atlantic Tuna
- Stock status and endangered species
- Laws, regulations and guidelines
- Other NGOs, GOs and Institutes
- Publications
- Glossary
