Marine Stewardship Council

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Marine Stewardship Council
Type Charity
Founded 1997, London, UK
Headquarters 3rd Floor, Mountbarrow House, 6-20 Elizabeth Street, London, UK
Industry Sustainable seafood ecolabel programme
Website www.msc.org

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent non-profit organization that has established a global environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. The MSC programme is voluntary and fisheries that are assessed and meet the standard can use the MSC blue ecolabel. The MSC mission is to promote ‘the best environmental choice in seafood’ through this blue ecolabel that is displayed on seafood from a certified fishery. The MSC seeks to harness consumer preference for products from sustainable fisheries by use of its ecolabel. When you buy fish that has the blue MSC ecolabel, it should indicate that this fishery operates in an environmentally responsible way and does not contribute to the global environmental problem of overfishing.

As of March 2008, there are over 1,400 seafood products available with the MSC ecolabel, sold in 36 countries around the world. 26 fisheries have been independently certified as meeting the MSC’s environmental standard for sustainable fishing and a further 68 are currently undergoing assessment, (further information on fisheries engaged in the MSC programme). Over 500 companies have met the MSC Chain of Custody standard for seafood traceability.

The MSC was founded in 1997 by the World Wide Fund for Nature and Unilever, and became fully independent in 1999. It has offices in London, UK (head office), Seattle, USA and Sydney, Australia and local offices in Tokyo, Japan and The Hague, Netherlands.

The MSC environmental standard for sustainable fisheries was developed over two years through a consultative process. The three principles of the MSC standard consider:

  1. The condition of the fish stock(s) of the fishery
  2. The impact of the fishery on the marine ecosystem
  3. The fishery management system

The MSC standard is consistent with the ‘Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Wild Capture Fisheries’ adopted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2005. Any fishery that wishes to become MSC certified and use the ecolabel is assessed against the MSC standard by a third party, independent certification body that has been independently accredited to perform MSC assessments by Accreditation Services International (ASI). Chain of custody certification along the supply chain from boat to point of sale ensures that seafood sold bearing the ecolabel originated from an MSC certified fishery.

The MSC is headed by the Chief Executive who reports to the Board of Trustees. This is supported by the Technical Advisory Board and the Stakeholder Council, (further information on MSC governance). The MSC programme works through a multi-stakeholder partnership approach, taking into account the views of those seeking to secure a sustainable future.

Jared Diamond's Collapse praises MSC and the similar Forest Stewardship Council as good examples of collaboration among environmentalists and businesses for a sustainable economy.

MSC and aquaculture
The Marine Stewardship Council is a programme for wild fisheries and does not include aquaculture production. However, the MSC programme can contribute to sustainable outcomes along the aquaculture production chain through the certification of feed fish fisheries. As of November 2006 there is one fishery undergoing assessment for MSC certification that produces for fishmeal – the Gulf of California sardine fishery. About 85% of the total production from the Gulf of California sardine fishery is used for reduction to fishmeal and mostly used for animal feeds.

51°29′35″N 0°08′57″W / 51.49306, -0.14917Coordinates: 51°29′35″N 0°08′57″W / 51.49306, -0.14917 Marine Stewardship Council Head Office, London, UK.

[edit] Fish & Kids

Murdock, the mascot of Fish and Kids, with the MSC ecolabel
Murdock, the mascot of Fish and Kids, with the MSC ecolabel

Fish & Kids is a project of the Marine Stewardship Council that encourages schools and restaurants in England to serve sustainable, MSC labelled seafood. Fish & Kids also aims to raise children’s awareness of sustainable food issues through a classroom resource pack and website using fun games and educational materials.

[edit] See Also

[edit] External links



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