June 10, 2026 — New consumer data from the Marine Stewardship Council show increased belief that seafood choices matter for ocean health, desire for independent environmental verification.
New data from the world’s largest survey of more than 20,500 seafood consumers has revealed increased awareness and optimism about the state of the world’s oceans. The consumer research was undertaken by independent research company GlobeScan commissioned by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a global environmental nonprofit focused on wild fisheries sustainability. The research shows stronger belief that we will have saved the oceans from irreparable damage, compared to two years ago when the research was last conducted.
The survey results also shows that U.S. consumers are improving their understanding of challenges facing our fisheries. While 58% of Americans correctly identified that overfishing is more widespread today than it was 50 years ago, 17% wrongly thought fish populations can never recover from overfishing, and a further 25% were unsure.