What is “equivalence”?
• Developing countries are responsible for more than 50 percent of fish and fishery products entering international trade. • Fish inspection and control activities are defective in many countries with damaging effects on both the development of fish exports and the home market. • Factors promoting change in fish inspection activities include the advent of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept, the harmonization of European Community fish inspection regulations and the implementation of the United States mandatory seafood regulations. • End-product analysis for certification purposes will become less important as countries move towards HACCP principles and equivalence agreements where control from harvesting to consumption is emphasized. • Importing countries which are well-advanced in fish inspection systems should contribute to less developed trading partners in terms of technical assistance and financial supports.
