Despite controversy over some high profile fisheries, the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) environmental standard for sustainable fisheries has seen a steady flow of interest in the past few years and plans to extend its global reach.
Steady stream of interest in MSC certification
In March 2000, Thames Herring and Western Australian Rock Lobster became the first fisheries to be certified as meeting the MSC’s sustainability standards, which are based on the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Since then, the MSC has awarded its eco-label to a further ten fisheries, ranging from the small-scale Loch Torridon Nephrops (langoustine) fishery to Alaskan Pollock, the biggest whitefish fishery in the world.
The MSC is attracting a steady stream of interest, particularly in North America, from fisheries wishing to achieve their environmental standard and acquire the distinctive blue and white eco-label for their products. Since 2001, an average of about five new fisheries have joined the MSC’s assessment process each year, with a total of 19 now undergoing full assessment. A further 20 or so fisheries are undergoing a confidential pre-assessment stage with MSC-approved certifiers to see how they match up to the MSC’s certification criteria.1
About three quarters of the fisheries that undergo pre-assessment don’t proceed to full assessment.1 But even fisheries that have little hope of certification can reap benefits from the pre-assessment stage, which helps to highlight problem areas, says MSC spokesperson Jessica Wenban-Smith. For instance, the community-based lobster fishery of Prainha do Canto Verde in north-eastern Brazil undertook pre-assessment in 1999-2000. Although it was obvious early on that the fishery would have little chance of certification, the pre-assessment drew attention to poor management of the lobster stock by the Brazilian government, spurred an effort to map the fishing grounds and provided impetus for a regional management scheme along 200km of coastline, including measures to stop backyard sales of undersized lobsters and provide alternative sources of income.2
Controversy
So far, all the fisheries that have completed full assessment have been MSC-certified. But for some, it has been a lengthy process fraught with controversy. Certification of New Zealand Hoki drew opposition from environmental groups because of bycatch of fur seals and seabirds, doubts over fish stock estimates and damaging effects of bottom trawling. South Georgia Toothfish attracted controversy because of wider problems of illegal fishing and seabird bycatch. And Alaska Pollock was criticised because of possible impacts on endangered Steller Sea Lions. Although these controversies have damaged the MSC’s reputation with some environmental groups, conditions specified as part of the certification process have driven improvements in the fisheries, with seal bycatch down by nearly 90 per cent in the Hoki fishery and illegal fishing stamped out in the South Georgia Toothfish fishery.1 Despite the bad press, the first four certified fisheries have signaled their faith in the MSC by seeking to renew their certificates for another five years.
New developments
The MSC have no control over which fisheries apply for certification, but aim to promote “equal access to its certification programme irrespective of the size, scale, type, location or intensity of the fishery”.4 So far, there is good spread in the size and type of fisheries currently taking part in their programme, but global coverage is skewed towards North America and the United Kingdom. Currently, 25 per cent of the certified fisheries and 47 per cent of the fisheries undergoing assessment are based in North America, with 33 and 32 per cent respectively based in Europe, primarily in the United Kingdom (see table below). Only one African fishery has been certified (South African Hake, certified in 2004) and none from Asia.
That situation may soon change. With the MSC recently signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Vietnamese government to encourage MSC certification in Vietnam over the next three years and two Vietnamese fisheries already seeking pre-assessment, there are hopes that Vietnam may lead the way for sustainable fisheries in Asia. Through its Developing World Fisheries Programme, the MSC is actively seeking ways of making the certification process more accessible to fisheries in developing countries, which are often small-scale, community-based and lack good data on fish stocks and catches. The MSC has also recently secured funding to undertake an outreach programme in Spain and Portugal.
Good news for consumers is that sustainably fished cod and tuna may be added to the MSC products list. The Bering Strait and Aleutian Island Pacific Cod Freezer Longline fishery became the first cod fishery to join the MSC assessment process in August 2004 and the American Albacore Tuna Association (which accounts for 20 per cent of the albacore catch from the USA West Coast Fishery) started pre-assessment in April 2004. With support from UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, the MSC is reviewing management of tuna fisheries worldwide.
Although the MSC has not yet established a high profile with consumers, it is remarkable what it has achieved in seven years and with a current staff of just 18 people: it has cornered around 3 per cent of the world’s wild fish catch and its logo now adorns 251 products in 24 countries. Watch out for them in a store near you.
Further information
For further information about the MSC certification see the recommended reading below. We have also compiled tables detailing the MSC certified fisheries and their quotas further down this page.
Sources of information
- Porritt, J. & Goodman, J. (2005). Fishing for good. Forum for the Future, July 2005.
- René Schärer (2001). A small start. SAMUDRA, August 2001.
- Marine Stewardship Council pers.comm.
- Marine Stewardship Council website
Table 1. MSC certified fisheries (n=12)
| Fishery | Date assessment began | Date certified | Metric tonnes |
| Alaska Pollock – Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands | Jan 2001 | Feb 2005 | 1,496,000 |
| Alaska Pollock – Gulf of Alaska | Jan 2001 | April 2005 | |
| Alaska Salmon* – 5 species | Mar 1999 | Sept 2000 | 332,498 |
| Burry Inlet Cockles | Mar 2000 | April 2001 | 7135 |
| Loch Torridon Nephrops | Jan 2002 | Jan 2003 | 150 |
| Mexican Baja California Red Rock Lobster | 2001 | April 2004 | 1,300 |
| New Zealand Hoki* | Oct 2000 | March 2001 | 100,000 |
| South African Hake | Aug 2002 | April 2004 | 166,000 |
| South Georgia Toothfish | May 2001 | March 2004 | 4,500 |
| South West Handline Mackerel | Mar 2001 | August 2001 | 1,750 |
| Thames Herring* | Mar 1999 | March 2000 | 121 |
| Western Australian Rock Lobster* | July 1999 | March 2000 | 10,750 |
* Fisheries undergoing 5-year reassessment
Table 2. Fisheries undergoing assessment (n=19)
| Fishery | Date assessment began | Metric tonnes |
| Australian Mackerel Icefish | Aug 2003 | 2,980 |
| BSAI* Pacific Cod Freezer Longline | Aug 2004 | 100,000 |
| British Columbia Salmon – 5 species | 2001 | 16,900 |
| California Chinook Salmon | April 2004 | 900-2,700 |
| Chilean Hake | Dec 2002 | 82,000 |
| Hastings Fishing Fleet Dover Sole Fishery | Oct 2003 | 40 |
| Hastings Fishing Fleet Pelagic Fishery – 2 species | Oct 2003 | 80 |
| Lake Hjälmaren Pikeperch | May 2004 | 165 |
| Lakes and Coorong fishery, South Australia – 4 species | July 2004 | |
| Maryland Striped Bass | April 2005 | |
| NESFC‡ Lobster, UK | June 2005 | |
| NESFC‡ Sea Bass, UK | June 2005 | |
| North Sea Herring | Nov 2002 | 329,000 |
| Oregon Dungeness Crab | Aug 2004 | 4,500 |
| Oregon Pink Shrimp | April 2005 | |
| Pacific Halibut (Alaska, Washington & Oregon) | Feb 2003 | |
| Pacific Halibut (British Columbia, Canada) | Feb 2003 | |
| Patagonia scallops | Jan 2005 | 6,000 |
| Sablefish (Alaska) | Feb 2003 |
* Bering Sea and Aleutian Island
‡ North Eastern Sea Fisheries Committee