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Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) Certification Seminar for Retailers

MAC ensures that you - the buyer of marine aquarium organisms - get animals that are healthy, from sustainable fisheries and managed reefs through MAC Standards and Certification covering the entire "Chain of Custody" - collection areas, collectors, exporters, importers, retailers - "from reef to retail…".
Paul Holthus, Executive Director, Marine Aquarium Council

This seminar will answer your questions about MAC Standards and Certification and how we can work together for healthy reefs, healthy fish and corals, healthy businesses and a healthy hobby.

Who and what is the Marine Aquarium Council?

• Who started it? What does it do? Who runs it?
• What are the MAC Standards and MAC Certification?

Why is MAC and MAC Certification necessary?

• Destructive fishing practices, such as cyanide - resulting in stressed and dead fish and reefs
• Unsustainable collection levels from unmanaged reefs - resulting in over-harvesting
• Poor husbandry, handling and transport - resulting in high mortality and unhealthy organisms

Who is involved in MAC?

Those concerned about the future of the marine aquarium trade and hobby - and the reefs and fisheries that support them:

• Collectors and their communities that want healthy, productive reefs and environmentally sound income from good quality marine ornamentals
• Exporters, importers and retailers that want a steady, continued supply of healthy, good quality animals
• Hobbyists and public aquariums that want healthy animals from reefs that are not being destroyed
• Conservation organizations that want responsible fisheries that support reef conservation and sustainable livelihoods
• Governments that want healthy, productive reefs and fisheries that are managed

What does MAC do for me?

• Verified healthy, quality marine aquarium organisms
• An unbroken chain of quality assurance
• Verified responsible suppliers with trained staff, appropriate facilities and best practices
• Marketing and public relations for MAC Certified companies

What are the MAC Standards and how where they developed?

• Ecosystem and Fishery Management (EFM) Standard
• Collection, Fishing and Holding (CFH) Standard
• Husbandry, Handling and Transport (HHT) Standard
• Mariculture and Aquaculture Management (MAM) Standard

Who or what can become MAC Certified and Labeled ?

• Collectors and companies are MAC Certified if they are verified to comply with MAC Standards that applies to them (i.e. the HHT Standard applies to importers and retailers)
• Marine aquarium organisms are MAC Certified if they are harvested from a MAC Certified collection area by MAC Certified collectors, passed from MAC Certified exporters to importers to retailers and kept in MAC labeled tanks

Who actually certifies companies and ensures they adhere to the MAC Standards?

• MAC accredits independent third-party "certifiers" who prove they have technical competence and capacity to evaluate collectors and companies for compliance
• Accredited certifiers evaluate compliance with MAC Standards through initial assessments and scheduled and unscheduled surveillance to monitor adherence to the MAC Standards

What are the Costs and Benefits of becoming MAC Certified?

• Costs of: the certifier’s "audit" visit; MAC label license fee; time, effort and costs to upgrade facilities, train staff and develop documentation system
• Savings of: reduced mortality; reduced numbers of low quality fish to handle; reduced quarantine and recovery costs for stressed and sick animals
• Net result: likely no net cost to retailers and significant added benefits

How do I become MAC Certified?

• Contacting MAC for information and assistance - we are here to help you !
• Becoming familiar with the MAC Standards and the Certification process
• Evaluating your facility in consultation with MAC
• Organizing and upgrading your operations and documentation facilities
• Undertaking an informal "pre-assessment" and addressing needed issues
• Contracting a MAC Accredited Certifier and undergoing a formal assessment

Is MAC Certification catching on globally?

• Over 115 exporters, importers and retailers in 16 countries have signed the MAC Statement of Commitment
• MAC Certified collection areas, collectors and exporters in the Philippines and Fiji - with more coming in these countries and in Indonesia, other Pacific countries and Hawaii
• Extensive MAC training program in these countries to increase the MAC Certified supply
• MAC Certified collection areas importers and retailers in the France, UK, Netherlands, US and Canada - with more coming
• Hear what do the companies that have become certified have to say about it?
• Extensive positive information about MAC and the a responsible marine aquarium trade appearing in hundreds of articles in the media around the world

If you have questions, please contact us : contact @ circop.com (remove de spaces)

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