## 1 Introduction  
The EU is the world's leading nominal trader for fishery and aquaculture products (FAPs) [1]. In addition, the EU has a higher average per capita consumption (24.33 kg) [2] than the global average (20.3 kg) [1]. In light of this value, EU regulations such as the Common Market Organization (CMO) have become important tools for the proper functioning of the market and industry [3]. The CMO ensures that the information that consumers receive from FAPs sold in the European Union is of the expected quality, regardless of the origin of the product [4]. The CMO is currently ruled by the EU regulation 1379/2013, which provides mandatory information on the labeling of FAPs and other aspects [3]. The regulation also includes a list of voluntary data that can be incorporated into the FAPs, including information on the environmental, ethical or social aspects of products, information on production techniques and practices and other types of information [5]. Furthermore, the EU regulation 1379/2013 requires the EU Commission to submit a report on the feasibility of a union-wide FAP eco-labeling scheme [6]. Food labeling is an important feature for consumers to obtain information on the products of the market and allows them to improve their knowledge and interest in seafood and can have a significant impact on food choice [7]. Ecolabels are based on approval seals for products that are considered to have less environmental impacts than functionally or competitively similar products [8]. Furthermore, ecolabels provide both private benefits(e.g., taste, freshness and health) that can be easily internalized by consumers and public benefits or externalities that consumers cannot fully benefit from (e.g., environmental sustainability and fair employment practices) [9]. In the case of externalities or public goods' dimensions, the main benefits can be associated with social, ethical or animal welfare issues rather than environmental issues. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [10], ecolabels are characterized as being voluntary and based on criteria established by a third-party scheme. The determination of criteria and the selection of product categories shall be carried out by independent experts who consider a variety of interest groups and technical inputs. The information shall be made available to the public and needs to be transparent and credible. Products that meet the criteria may use the eco-logo for a fixed period of time after fees payment and application costs. Since the 1990s, several eco-labeling schemes for fisheries have been developed in response to public and non-governmental organizations' (NGOs) concerns about the sustainability of fish stocks, the direct impact of fisheries on other species and the indirect impact of fisheries on marine habitats [11]. These eco-labeling schemes aim to differentiate products based on their environmental impact, thus enabling consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. Eco-labeling schemes are also designed to encourage industries to adopt better practices alongside or without effective regulation. As said, the EU Commission was obliged to submit a report on the feasibility of a union-wide FAP eco-labeling scheme. To that end, a public questionnaire was developed, among different aspects, to know what type of information apart from environmental issues should be included if the EU created its own fisheries and aquaculture EU ecolabel [6]. An integrated EU ecolabel for fisheries and aquaculture products might be a good alternative to surpass certain issues of current private eco-labeling schemes that have been questioned in the literature, such as their high volume of available options with conflicting messages that undermine their effectiveness [12], the anti-competitiveness environment that they might generate if some firms are capable of exerting market power [13], their lack of effectiveness and rigor [14], their inability to promote consumer demand [12] or their inability to pursue significant environmental change [15].