The New Trade Approach

The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC), an US based, international non-profit organization, initiated in 1998 the development of a comprehensive certification program for the marine aquarium industry. The main objectives of MAC are:

• Establish independent standards and certification of "best practices"

• Ensure the health and quality of marine life through responsible collection, handling and transport practices

• Raise public awareness of the industry's role in conservation

• Provide objective and accurate data on the marine ornamental trade

• Encourage responsible husbandry through education and training

The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) was supporting MAC with a Private Public Partnership project which aimed to complement the above mentioned objectives through synergistic efforts on training, interpretation of core criteria and standards as well as the establishment of a showcase facility (MarineFauna Inc.) that complies with all requirements for certification set by MAC.

MarineFauna Inc. supports the new trade approach in order to deliver healthy animals, maintaining high quality standards, including fair pay to the fisher folk to avoid resources trade-off.