Why Certification Matters
Clear requirements for businesses. Informed choices for consumers.
Behind every seafood product, marine ingredient or service connected with the sea are decisions about sourcing, production and how activities are carried out.
Certification provides a framework for assessing those practices against defined requirements. It helps businesses communicate what has been independently checked and gives buyers information they can examine.
Friend of the Sea brings together published standards, assessment by certification bodies and a label linked to a defined certification scope.
Why these choices matter
Fishing and aquaculture provide food and livelihoods. How they operate matters for fish populations, marine habitats and the people working in their supply chains.
In fisheries, relevant considerations include fish-stock status, fishing methods and the accidental capture of other species, known as bycatch. In aquaculture, they include farm location, water quality, feed and waste management.
Other products and services connected with the marine environment raise different questions. The requirements relevant to a marine ingredient, for example, differ from those applicable to a shipping operator or wildlife-watching service.
For businesses, these considerations affect operational and sourcing decisions. For consumers, they concern information that is rarely visible on a shop shelf.
Certification provides a common point of reference: defined requirements against which the relevant products and activities can be assessed.
Why choose Friend of the Sea?
A name that speaks directly to consumers
“Friend of the Sea” uses everyday words and makes an immediate connection with the sea. With the name written in full on the logo, it gives businesses a clear starting point for explaining certification on packaging and in customer communications.
One label across different product categories
From seafood to omega-3 supplements and marine collagen, the Friend of the Sea label provides a consistent visual identity across different certified products.
For businesses with products in several categories, this creates a common approach to presenting certification across eligible lines. Each product carrying the label must be covered by the relevant certification and logo authorisation.
A visible part of your product communication
The logo can bring certification information into the places where customers discover and compare products: packaging, product pages, catalogues and promotional materials.
Used in accordance with the applicable logo-use rules, it helps businesses make certification visible and gives customers a route to further information.
A connection between the label and the evidence
The label gives customers something to look for. The FOS ID gives them a way to investigate further.
Together, they connect the certification message on a product with information customers and commercial buyers can check.
What certification means for your business
Whether you catch, farm, process, manufacture, sell products or provide services, the starting point is the standard relevant to your activities.
Assessment by a certification body provides a structured process for reviewing conformity with its requirements. The resulting certification scope defines what your business can refer to when communicating certification to customers and commercial partners.
Certification can help your business:
- Organise evidence: bring together the records required for assessment.
- Respond to purchasing enquiries: provide certification information that customers can review.
- Communicate accurately: identify the products or activities covered and the standard that applies.
- Support verification: direct customers to the relevant certification record.
The value lies in connecting your certification claims to evidence that others can check.
What the label means for consumers
The Friend of the Sea label identifies certification against an applicable Friend of the Sea standard.
Certification applies to the scope recorded in the certificate. This may cover specified products, species, sites or activities. It does not automatically cover every product sold by the same brand.
For example, a brand may sell several omega-3 supplements while only particular products are covered. Similarly, sourcing an ingredient from a certified supplier does not, by itself, establish that the finished product is certified.
Certification demonstrates conformity with defined requirements and gives buyers a documented basis for assessing the practices covered by the relevant standard.
For food and supplements, certification should be considered alongside other purchasing information, including ingredients, allergens and suitability for your needs.
How to check certification
Look for the logo. Find the ID. Verify.
Whether you are shopping for yourself or sourcing products for your business:
- Read the label or claim. Identify the Friend of the Sea certification wording and any FOS ID provided.
- Find the certification record. Search the verification directory and review the certification status.
- Check what is covered. Match the product, species or activity to the information in the record.
If you cannot find a matching record, or the scope is unclear, ask for clarification before relying on the claim.
Considering certification for your business?
Find out how to have your products or activities assessed against the relevant Friend of the Sea standard.
