Created to tackle issues surrounding overexploitation and ocean habitat degradation, ecolabels are designed to offer market-based incentives to encourage sustainable fisheries. The premise is simple; environmentally conscientious consumers not only want seafood products that have been sourced from well-managed, ecologically sustainable fisheries, but are willing to pay a premium.
Whilst a number of studies have found that, in UK retail markets at least, seafood carrying ecolabels do indeed fetch price premiums, few studies have investigated the impact of ecolabels on dockside (ex-vessel) prices. One such recently published study from researcher Adam Stemle (National Marine Fisheries Service) and colleagues found the impact of ecolabels on dockside prices is variable.
The study compared a number of different fisheries certified under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ecolabel scheme with their non-certified counterparts: Alaska salmon (chum, sockeye, pink, coho, and chinook), North Pacific halibut, and the Kyoto Danish Seine Fishery Federation flathead flounder fishery.
Compared to their non-certified counterparts, three of these fisheries showed dockside price improvements after receiving their MSC certification Alaskan chum and pink salmon, and the flathead flounder.
Pacific halibut, and Alaskan coho and chinook salmon dockside prices showed no statistically significant difference post certification.
However, Alaskan sockeye salmon dockside prices actually declined after certification relative to their non-certified counterparts.
Since the costs of ecolabelling, which can be expensive, are often borne by the fisheries themselves, understanding how the economic benefits transfer down the supply chain has important implications for the industry. For example in 2012, several of Alaska’s large salmon processors retracted from the MSC program, possibly due to conflicts with the MSC, and/or a perception that the costs of certification were not offset by dockside prices achieved.
If it was the latter, the study authors explained, the processors may have been partially right. Whilst Alaskan salmon dockside prices may not have noticeably gone up post-certification, this study does indicate that for chum and pink salmon at least, Alaska’s fishers achieved higher prices relative to their closest competitor in British Columbia.
The authors do note that prior to the 2015 salmon fishery season, several of these large processors were seeking recertification, possibly due to increasing demand from the retail market for certified seafood, or potentially as a marketing strategy to increase more demand for Alaskan salmon, which at the time was predicted to have record runs.
2000 – 2014. 5m Publishing