Marine Stewardship Council Archives - Page 30 of 39

MSC discusses future of certification program during conference at Seafood Expo Global

April 26, 2018 — A panel of key industry members, NGOs, and Marine Stewardship Council officials met on 25 April to discuss what the future has in store for the MSC.

MSC CEO Rupert Howes was on hand to discuss the future of the program and the challenges it will need to face – and is already facing – after over 20 years of existence. Key to the discussion was the United Nation’s framework known as Sustainable Development Goals, and how MSC has had to adapt to a changing climate. Warming oceans have led to challenges for the environment, and in turn for fisheries that have seen drastic changes in the patterns of fish they harvest.

“Are our oceans in trouble? I think they are. You look at the impacts of acidification and climate change devastating coral reefs,” Howes said. “A number of MSC fisheries have lost their certificate as fish change their migration patterns.”

A theme throughout the discussion was the idea of striking a balance between pushing sustainability in response to new science and environmental challenges, without raising the bar so high that industry leaders decide the cost isn’t worth it.

Read the full story at the Seafood Source

US Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank Waiting on MSC Final Consultation for Haddock, Pollock and Redfish

April 19, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The U.S. Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank haddock, pollock and redfish trawl fishery are one step closer to receiving Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.

A determination was reached by certification body Acoura Marine Ltd., who found that the fishery should be certified “according to the MSC Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Fisheries.” However, the fishery must wait until the final consultation period has concluded before receiving their official MSC certification. Any party that disagrees with the determination has 15 working days to object in a written letter.

Objections must be submitted by May 9. The fishery will be able to use the MSC logo on their products once the final consultation period has ended without objections.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it it republished here with permission.

ISSF: How Can Tropical Tuna Purse-Seine Fisheries Become MSC Certified?

April 19, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has published a comprehensive report of recommendations, with an emphasis on fish aggregating device (FAD) usage, for purse-seine fisheries pursuing Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. ISSF 2018-05: Recommended Best Practices for Tropical Tuna Purse Seine Fisheries in Transition to MSC Certification, with Emphasis on FADs is based on MSC fishery-certification requirements and organized by MSC scoring indicators. It is intended as a practical resource for purse-seine fisheries entering into Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) to address problems, close gaps, and earn MSC certification.

The report summarizes science-based best practices for tropical tuna purse-seine fisheries with a FAD component — that is, with a portion of their sets on FAD-associated schools of tuna. Many of the practices also apply to purse-seine fishing on free-swimming tuna schools.

MSC Certification, Purse-Seine Fisheries, and FIPS

Approximately 65% of the world’s tuna is harvested from purse-seine fisheries, which have been challenged in receiving MSC certification as compared to other species fisheries. Only certain components of some purse-seine fisheries — the free-swimming school, anchored FAD, and dolphin-associated components — have been certified by MSC to date.

Helping all tuna fisheries to be sustainable and meet MSC certification standards — without conditions — is ISSF’s ultimate objective. Since FIPs are instrumental in that process, ISSF’s new five-year strategic plan, Advancing Sustainable Tuna Fisheries,emphasizes tools and resources, along with scientific expertise and RFMO advocacy, to support those improvement projects.

More than 30 tuna FIPs are active worldwide today, and many retailers and food-service providers are committed to FIPs in their seafood sourcing guidelines.

Best Practices in FAD Fishing

In Recommended Best Practices, ISSF marine scientists Ana Justel-Rubio and Dr. Victor Restrepo — who also sits on MSC’s Technical Advisory Board — reference requirements from Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) and present best practices gleaned from ISSF at-sea research, skippers workshops, and other resources.

Regarding FAD use, they identify several best practices for vessels operating in a tuna purse-seine fishery seeking certification, including:

Comply with flag state and RFMO reporting requirements for fisheries statistics by set type
Voluntarily report additional data on FADs for use by RFMO science bodies
Support science-based limits on the overall number of FADs used and/or FAD sets
Use non-entangling FADs only, and promote the use of biodegradable FADs
Develop a FAD recovery policy, including arrangements to alert coastal countries of derelict FADs that may impact sensitive areas
For silky sharks (the main bycatch species in FAD sets), implement further mitigation efforts

Recommendations to Increase MSC Scores

In addition to best practices for FAD use, the report recommends strategies for fisheries to:

Promote RFMO adoption of stock management measures that address all fishing gears
Increase research and monitoring capabilities
Improve overall compliance with RFMO requirements, including reporting of data needed for stock assessment

An appendix lists all MSC performance indicators (PIs) for each MSC Principle — Sustainable Fish Stocks (P1), Minimizing Environmental Impact (P2), and Effective Management (P3) — and their component scoring issues (SIs), identifying actions that will lead to passing scores of 80 or higher.

Northeast companies seek MSC certification for squid

April 12, 2018 — Two companies based in the Northeast U.S. have jointly entered the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process for the Atlantic loligo (longfin) squid fishery.

Lund’s Fisheries, in Cape May, New Jersey, U.S.A., and the Town Dock in Point Judith, Rhode Island, U.S.A., have begun the multi-step certification process needed for the East Coast loligo. If successful, they would be the first squid fishery to receive MSC certification.

Both companies said they hope the certification will showcase the fishery’s commitment to sustainability.

“We know squid fits that mode, now it’s just going through the proper channels to prove it, and there’s no better way to do it than go through that MSC process,” said Patrick Maness, director of marketing for the Town Dock.

The Town Dock is currently the largest supplier of calamari in the United States, running a dedicated fleet of six boats and purchasing from 20 independently owned large boats in the area around Point Judith. In 2016, Rhode Island represented the largest harvester of loligo, landing 10,329 metric tons according to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Northeast squid fishery seeks MSC certification

April 6, 2018 — Last summer, two major Atlantic squid wholesalers — Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May, N.J., and the Town Dock in Point Judith, R.I. — jointly entered a process that could result in the East Coast inshore Atlantic loligo (longfin) squid fishery obtaining Marine Stewardship Council Certification as early as May 2018.

About 60 fisheries have been MSC certified in the United States. East Coast loligo would be the first squid fishery to receive MSC certification.

The loligo assessment, facilitated by independent certifier SCS Global Services, has been a year-long, multistep process, and the peer review stage is nearing fruition this spring.

“It can take anywhere from eight to 18 months, depending on the scope of assessment,” said Maggie Dewane, MSC’s U.S. communications manager. “Because of the pre-assessment process, which highlights any weaknesses within the fishery, which can then be addressed prior to entering assessment, most fisheries are able to achieve certification.”

Both companies hope an eventual MSC certification will help push Atlantic inshore loligo squid into new markets and meet the needs of customers that otherwise were previously out of reach.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

ISSF Releases Interactive “Status of the Stocks Tool”

April 5, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation:

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has developed a new data-visualization tool based on its long-running and widely followed Status of the Stocks report. The “Status of the Stocks Tool” is located on the ISSF website and accessible through the Status of the Stocks overview page; users can easily toggle through tuna stock health indicators and filter by location, species and other key stock health and catch factors.

The tool, which requires no additional applications or access to use, offers fisheries managers, fishers, RFMOs, scientists, and other stakeholders a convenient and intuitive resource for visualizing the state of tuna stocks worldwide, covering 23 tuna stocks — including ones that have been or are overfished, as well as those at healthy levels. Offering the most current data available, it also pulls information from previous years of ISSF Status of the Stocks reports, which compile key stock health and catch data from the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).

“As part of our ongoing efforts to bring improved technology into understanding fisheries management, we developed this resource to offer a clearer picture of trends in global tuna stock health over time,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “Not only does a data visualization tool such as this allow users a customized look at the tuna stocks they are most interested in, it also offers a meaningful understanding of the impact of changes in RFMO management on those tuna stocks over time.”

For example, the number of stocks well-managed in terms of fishing mortality has increased from 8 (35%) in 2012 to 15 (65%) in 2018, demonstrating the improvement of management measures put in place by the RFMOs. Improved management measures lead to stock rebuilding, as in the case of bluefin tuna stocks, where 100% of the catch came from overfished stocks in 2013, versus just 26.5% of the catch in 2018. The tool can also be used to monitor those stocks for which management has been effective and, therefore, resulted in maintained healthy levels of abundance over time (e.g., skipjack stocks).

The tool was developed by ISSF’s science and communications teams and was reviewed by the scientists on the ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee.

Interactive Tool Design

The tool, built using Tableau technology, features two tabs — one for visualizing tuna stock health trends since 2011, and another for visualizing the recent tuna catch by fishing method.

Users can generate a variety of customized and exportable graphics within the tool based on the parameters they choose in the checkboxes (such as “ocean location”) or buttons. By hovering or clicking on the graphics, users can see percentages and other details.

On the Stock Health tab, data can be filtered first by tuna species and ocean region. The user can choose between visualizing data relative to total catch or to number of stocks, and between ratings on stock abundance or on fishing mortality. As a result, the corresponding area graph is generated. Like the Status of the Stocks reports, the tool uses a color rating system: green (“healthy”), yellow (“intermediate”), and orange (“needs improvement”).

The Catch tab currently features data from 2016, the most recent year for which complete catch data are available. Gear type data can be filtered by ocean location to generate a bar chart.

ISSF’s “Status of the Stocks Tool” will be updated as new iterations of the Status of the Stocks Reportare released. To access the most recent Status of the Stocks report in full, click here.

About the ISSF Status of the Stocks Report

There are 23 stocks of major commercial tuna species worldwide – 6 albacore, 4 bigeye, 4 bluefin, 5 skipjack, and 4 yellowfin stocks. The Status of the Stocks summarizes the results of the most recent scientific assessments of these stocks, as well as the current management measures adopted by the RFMOs. This report ranks the status and management of the 23 stocks using a consistent methodology based on three factors: Abundance, Exploitation/Management (fishing mortality) and Environmental Impact (bycatch).

ISSF also produces a complementary report, the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Global Tuna Stocks Relative to Marine Stewardship Council Criteria (MSC) which provides scores for the stocks and RFMOs based on MSC assessment criteria. The MSC-certified fisheries list (Appendix 2) inStatus of the Stocks complements the Evaluation report.

Together, these tools help to define the continuous improvement achieved, as well as the areas and issues that require more attention. Access the newly updated ISSF stock status ratings here.

About the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is a global coalition of scientists, the tuna industry and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) — the world’s leading conservation organization — promoting science-based initiatives for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks, reducing bycatch and promoting ecosystem health. Helping global tuna fisheries meet sustainability criteria to achieve the Marine Stewardship Council certification standard — without conditions — is ISSF’s ultimate objective. To learn more, visit iss-foundation.org, and follow ISSF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram(@issf.official).

PNA Tuna Fishery Receives MSC Recertification After IPNLF Objections

March 29, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The PNA tuna fishery has received their MSC recertification following concerns raised by the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF).

As we reported earlier this month, an independent adjudicator confirmed that the PNA skipjack tuna fishery continued to meet the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) standard for sustainable fishing. This inspection came after IPNLF presented 24 objections against the sustainable fishery, including that the fishery was involved in shark finning, a practice that the MSC had banned in 2013.

“This highlights the strength of the MSC process,” MSC Science and Standards Director Dr. David Agnew said in a press release following the Independent Adjudicator’s findings. “As a result of this objection, more information is now in the public domain about the PNA fishery, adding to the information in the published assessment report, and improving the transparency of the fishery’s management. This confirms that the PNA skipjack tuna fishery is a sustainable and well-managed fishery that has made considerable improvements over the course of its first MSC certificate. People buying labeled PNA tuna can be confident that their purchase is making a positive difference to the sustainability of our oceans.”

The MSC certificate is good for five years and confirms that the PNA free-school fishery meets the “robust criteria of the MSC.” In addition, free-school tuna caught in the Exclusive Economic Zone off Tokelau is now eligible for MSC certification under the new MSC certificate.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Whale deaths result in Canada’s snow crab fishery losing MSC certification

March 21, 2018 — Canada’s East Coast snow crab fishery has had its sustainable catch certification suspended by the Marine Stewardship Council, the organization announced on 20 March. Until another audit occurs in October 2018, some Maritime snow crab will not be able to display the MSC label.

The certification suspension is the result of incidents involving the deaths of 13 North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2017. Necropsies showed that three of the whales died as the result of entanglement with crab gear. The audit also found that of a further five live entanglements, four were with crab gear.

Philip Hamilton, a research scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, described last summer as the perfect storm when it came to right whale mortality. The whales appeared in waters where they have never been before and during a fishing season when there were more crab pots and rope in the water.

Peter Norsworthy, executive director of the Affiliation of Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia (ASPANS), said 2017 was an extraordinary year.

“It was a longer fishery last year because the quota was higher than it had ever been. So it took a lot longer to execute the fishery than it normally would. Normally, 75 percent of the catch is landed within the first three weeks. This year, the quota is going to be down to normal levels, about 25,000 tonnes vs last year’s 43,000 tonnes. So we fully expect it will be caught in a normal time period and finish by the end of May,” Norsworthy said. “Hopefully, with an earlier start we’ll get most of the fishing completed before the whales show up, if they show up again.”

Norsworthy said fishermen were unsure what the certification suspension will mean to individual fishermen in terms of catch prices. He said they will wait to see “how the market responds.”

“I think most buyers realize 2017 was an unusual circumstance and are fairly well-informed about what activities are being undertaken [to protect the whales],” he said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Fishin’ Company leading MSC certification effort for Oregon’s Dungeness crab fishery

March 14, 2018 — An agreement between the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission and The Fishin’ Company will pave the way for the Dungeness crab fishery in Oregon to seek Marine Stewardship Council certification.

The memorandum of agreement signed on 7 March will see The Fishin’ Company, a Munhall, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.-based company that is a major buyer of the crab, provide financial resources and personnel to work alongside the fishery as it enters the MSC pre-assessment process.

“The Oregon Dungeness crab fishery is committed to a sustainable fishery through proven methods of management,” The Fishin’ Company Director of Sustainability Justin Baugh said. “They are focused on continuous improvement through science-based research and we believe the ODCC should be recognized for this and are excited to place our support behind them.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Marine Stewardship Council Celebrates 20 Years of Keeping Oceans Wild

March 6, 2018 — SEATTLE — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the world’s most recognized, science-based seafood certification program, marks 20 years of working to keep the world’s oceans wild with a new campaign. “Keep It Wild” celebrates the people who love wild seafood and who have been instrumental in partnering with the MSC to protect the world’s oceans over the past two decades. The MSC has launched a new website – 20.msc.org – to better highlight its work and mission and to encourage consumers to continue choosing seafood with the organization’s blue fish label that denotes wild, certified and sustainable seafood.

“Since the MSC’s establishment in late 1997, we have engaged numerous stakeholders – from fisheries and processors to restaurants, retailers and consumers – in our vision to see the world’s oceans teeming with life to ensure a healthy seafood supply for today, tomorrow and always,” said Brian Perkins, regional director for the Americas at the Marine Stewardship Council. “As we embark on the next 20 years, and beyond, we want to celebrate those who have turned that vision into a reality. While much work remains, we are proud of our collective accomplishments thus far and look forward to continuing our momentum.”

A mission translates into milestones

Conceived in response to global fisheries challenges such as overfishing and habitat destruction, the MSC was established as a nonprofit by Unilever and WWF to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans. The MSC uses its blue fish label and strict fishery certification standards to support its mission in three ways: recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood, and working with partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis.

Since its inception, the MSC has created highly specialized certification standards and traceability systems, which are continually refined and updated with the latest fisheries science. Organizations that seek certification do so voluntarily, and independent third-party entities determine whether those organizations meet the MSC’s stringent requirements before awarding certification. To meet the MSC’s standards, applicants must demonstrate alignment with three core principles: guaranteeing sustainability of fish populations, committing to minimal ecosystem impacts, and implementing effective management practices that respond to environmental changes.

The MSC’s rigorous approach has attracted stakeholders from around the world – including fisheries, processors, restaurants, retailers and consumers – in its efforts to achieve significant milestones in sustainability:

12 percent of all global catch is now certified to MSC standards
300 fisheries are certified globally, and 22 of those are in the U.S.
More than 33,000 companies around the world, representing every level of the supply chain, are MSC certified
More than 23,000 products carry the MSC’s blue fish label in about 100 markets
The U.S. market has more than 1,000 products with the blue fish label

Keeping the world’s oceans teeming with life is a collaborative effort, and the MSC has reached out not only to fisheries, but to businesses with global impacts. For instance, in 2006, Walmart committed to sourcing all fresh and frozen seafood from organizations certified to the MSC standard. In 2011, McDonald’s restaurants in Europe adopted blue fish labeled products, and the following years saw a similar movement by its U.S. and Canadian operations. In 2015, IKEA pledged to serve only sustainable seafood throughout its markets.

The MSC has also earned the respect of sustainability-focused organizations around the world. It was the first global seafood certification to achieve recognition from the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative for its credibility and rigor. Additionally, the MSC was recognized for best practices by ISEAL Alliance and UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

MSC maintains focus to ‘Keep It Wild’

As the MSC looks to the future, it is working to fold more individuals and organizations into its mission. With a new Keep It Wild campaign, the nonprofit is celebrating the people – known as “the Wild Ones” – who have turned their love of wild seafood into a solution for the world’s at-risk oceans. The campaign will highlight the fishers, processors, fish mongers, grocers, restaurateurs, chefs, consumers and even pets who enjoy seafood carrying the blue fish label, which is affixed to products ranging from fresh, frozen, canned and preserved items to supplements and pet food.

The Keep It Wild campaign will be featured online at 20.msc.org, in retailers, on the Food Network’s “Food Quest” show, and at the Environmental Film Festival in Washington, D.C. In addition to celebrating the people behind the organization’s success, Keep It Wild will provide consumers with guidance on how to find and select sustainable and traceable seafood products so they can do their part in keeping the oceans wild for generations to come.

Read the release here.