Saving Seafood

Sustainable catch nearly doubles over 5 years, reports MSC

June 10, 2016 — A new report commissioned by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and published in time to celebrate World Oceans Day (observed on 8 June) outlines how effective management and other improvements undergone by MSC-certified fisheries have positively impacted the world’s oceans.

Among the report’s most significant findings was the increase in the volume of global, MSC-certified wild seafood catch, which jumped from 5 percent (4,541 metric tons) in 2010 to 9.4 percent (8,821,221 metric tons) in 2015.

The 2016 Global Impacts Report analyzes the progress made by the 281 fisheries across 33 countries that have achieved MSC certification. At the close of 2015, these 281 fisheries implemented approximately 876 improvements, with more on the way, according to the report.

“The MSC was established nearly 20 years ago to address the problem of unsustainable fishing and safeguard seafood supplies for the future. Our latest report showcases the results of the hard work, innovation and investment made by fisheries to achieve and maintain certification, and the positive change on the water the MSC program helps catalyze globally,” MSC Chief Executive Rupert Howes said in a news release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Status and Trends of the US Sea Scallop Fishery

April 18, 2016 — Rotational area management is the cornerstone of U.S. sea scallop fisheries management; areas that contain beds of small scallops are closed before the scallops experience fishing mortality, then the areas re-open when scallops are larger, producing more yield-per-recruit. When scallop vessels are fishing in these areas they are limited in terms of total removal. The scallops are harvested for their mussel (“meats”) by being hand shucked at sea; the vast majority being landed iced.

There have been many issues associated with commercial fishing gear in recent years as we move towards more sustainable fisheries. Important objectives to scallop gear operations include increasing the size of scallops retained in the gear, preventing damage to scallops not ready for harvest, avoiding mortality to unwanted fish species, mitigating any adverse impact to habitat, and reducing risk to threatened and endangered species. Scallops are primarily harvested by dredges that sweep across the surface of the sea floor. Besides catching scallops, the gear also captures as a bycatch flatfish such as yellowtail flounder and winter flounder. Many of these flatfish stocks are in an overfished condition due to past heavy pressure from targeting fisheries and environmental change, including rising ocean temperatures. Reduction of bycatch in the scallop fishery has been accomplished by gear modifications, time/ area closures (e.g., seasonal restrictions), and the higher scallop catch per unit effort (CPUE) achieved by rotational management.

Another issue relates to the concerns that some stakeholders have about adverse impacts of scallop dredging on the habitat. While many studies indicate that fishing has relatively little long term impact on the types of high energy habitats scallops inhabit, management takes the precautionary approach of minimizing the swept area of the fishery. The 2016 projection for swept area is 3,600 square nautical miles. This is down from the 16,000 square nautical miles fished in the 1990’s, which produced substantially less yields — another major benefit of the rotational fishing strategy.

The scallop fishery also had an issue with the bycatch of loggerhead sea turtles in the mid-Atlantic; estimates suggested that the fishery killed or injured over 700 loggerheads in 2003 alone. The industry and its scientific partners have since developed gear solutions and now virtually no turtle mortality has been observed.

By solving issues related to scallop stock management, bycatch, habitat, and protected species, the U.S. scallop producers applied for and received the “Certified Sustainable Seafood” credential from the Marine Stewardship Council, aiding in the worldwide marketing of the U.S. sea scallop.

See the full story at the Northeast Agriculture Insights and Perspectives.

New ways to fight human-rights abuses in the global seafood industry

April 14, 2016 — When Bayani secured an overseas job in the fishing industry from a broker in his home country of the Philippines, it was about finding work that he was skilled at and enjoyed and that could support his family. He didn’t expect to be forced to fish illegally, to be imprisoned on a fishing boat, or to have his passport and other documents withheld by his employer. Even so, had his family back home been receiving his salary, as he thought was happening, he said he might have kept quiet. But when Bayani learned a third-party was skimming his pay for an alleged debt owed by his employer, he decided to break his silence regardless of the consequences.

Bayani’s ordeal lasted for months during which he feared for his own wellbeing and that of his family. But because he had access to a mobile phone and a former employer who had leverage with his current employer, he eventually escaped his ordeal. Many other fishers in the global fishing industry aren’t so lucky. Bayani was not kidnapped and enslaved. He did not witness murder, child labor, or sexual abuse — all well documented occurrences in seafood supply chains.

Human-rights abuses in the seafood industry have grabbed headlines, causing governments, NGOs, businesses, and individual consumers to consider a more holistic view of sustainability — one that incorporates social as well as environmental responsibility. Recently, new approaches to improving the industry’s human-rights record have emerged. These often involve adding a social dimension to sustainable-seafood certification schemes or improving oversight via technological fixes. However, experts have yet to agree on which approaches are likely to work or which to embrace, given how bad the situation is.

See the full story at Mongabay

International Seafood Sustainability Foundation to Hold its First China Skipper Workshop

April 5, 2016 — WASHINGTON — On April 6, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) will expand its global series of skipper workshops to China for the first time since the Foundation began the unique platform for knowledge exchange in 2009. The Shanghai workshop is the result of a collaboration between ISSF and the China Overseas Fisheries Association (COFA) and will engage tuna purse seine fishers, crew members and fleet managers in an event that seeks to share best practices for sustainable tuna fishing and mitigate fishing’s impact on the marine ecosystem.

“ISSF skipper workshops have reached more than 900 skippers to date, covering nine fleets in 2015 alone,” said Dr. Victor Restrepo, Vice President of Science at ISSF and chair of its Scientific Advisory Committee. “With roughly 790 large scale purse seine vessels operating today, we know we are engaging a substantial portion of the purse seine capacity on a global basis. Expanding these workshops to the Chinese fleet is an imperative next step as we work toward the global development and adoption of best practices for bycatch reduction and more in the world’s tuna fisheries.”

“We are pleased to welcome ISSF to Shanghai to help us continue to make improvements to ensure that bycatch is mitigated, that there is better compliance by Chinese tuna fishing fleet on bycatch measures adopted by t-RFMOs, and that tuna stocks remain healthy,” said Zhao Gang of COFA.

Dr. Jefferson Murua, with the Marine Research Division of Azti-Tecnalia, will lead the workshop in Shanghai. For seven years, ISSF has commissioned scientist presenters to traverse the world in an effort to share best practices with tuna fishers in every port. The outreach focuses on purse seine fisheries, where the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) is often employed, and emphasizes the importance of maximizing the survival of species. Particular attention is paid to species like sharks and rays, and reducing waste from small tuna and other fish species. The workshops are also an important opportunity for scientists to dialogue with fishers about what techniques and tools may be most successfully implemented given the variable dynamics of the world’s tuna fisheries. These interactions, in turn, help inform ISSF’s bycatch research priorities as ISSF continues to identify and advance sustainable fishing practices. Previous skipper workshops have been held in Panama, Ecuador, Mexico, Spain, Ghana, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, USA, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, American Samoa and more. Additional workshops in 2016 will target the fleets of Indonesia, China, Spain, Ecuador, Ghana, USA and Venezuela.

In addition, all ISSF participating companies – tuna processors and marketers that represent around 75% of the world’s tuna processing capacity – are required to purchase tuna from vessels whose skippers have reviewed these best practices, either by attending a workshop in person or taking advantage of ISSF’s additional skipper outreach materials, specifically ISSF skipper workshop videos or skippers guidebooks, both of which are available in multiple languages. Participating companies are audited against this commitment annually, the results of which are shared in the aggregate in an annual compliance report as part of ISSF’s annual report.

This multi-faceted effort – from on-the-ground workshops to company commitment and compliance auditing and reporting – are part of ISSF’s holistic work to help tuna fisheries make continuous improvements as they edge closer to becoming more robustly sustainable and capable of meeting the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification standard without conditions.

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of the first Canadian Atlantic cod stock shows positive progress

The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

TORONTO – March 22, 2016 — The Canada Newfoundland 3Ps cod fishery has become the country’s first Atlantic cod fishery to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as sustainable and well managed.

This milestone certification marks a new page in the history of Atlantic cod in Canada. It signals to the world that collaborative efforts from fisheries, industry, government and NGOs have the power to improve the health of fish stocks while sustaining hope for the communities that rely on fishing for their livelihoods.

Meeting the world’s most recognized standard for sustainability

To achieve MSC certification the 3Ps cod fishery demonstrated that it meets a high bar of sustainability set by the MSC Fishery Standard.  Widely recognized as the world’s most credible and robust standard for sustainable fishing, the MSC Standard is founded on three principles: a healthy fish stock, protection of the surrounding marine ecosystem, and effective fishery management.

“We are proud of the work completed by everyone involved in the journey to achieving MSC certification for 3Ps cod,” says Alberto Wareham, CEO of Icewater Seafoods Ltd, a member of the client group for the MSC certification. “As the seventh generation of my family working in this fishery, sustainability is important to us. I know it is also important to our customers and we are confident that the MSC certification will provide the assurance that our cod comes from a sustainable and well-managed source. It will also help the fishery remain sustainable through the natural ecosystem variations experienced off our coasts.

See the full release at the Marine Stewardship Council

Marine Stewardship Council: New research reveals levels of consumer trust in seafood labelling

March 16, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Early results from the MSC’s latest survey of more than 16,000 seafood consumers show that more than half (55%) doubt that the seafood they consume is what it says on the packet. Across the 21 countries surveyed, 65% of those purchasing seafood say they want to know that their fish can be traced back to a known and trusted source, with six in ten (63%) saying they look to ecolabels as a trusted source of information.

The findings come as the organisation today released results from its DNA testing of MSC labelled seafood products. In 2015, the MSC commissioned the Wildlife DNA Forensics unit at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) to conduct DNA tests on a random sample of 257 MSC labelled seafood products from 16 countries. The test verifies that the species described on the packaging is the same as that in the product. The DNA test results show that over 99%* of MSC labelled products are correctly labelled.

MSC CEO Rupert Howes said, “Given a recent academic study showing that globally around 30% of seafood is mislabelled**, the results of the MSC’s DNA testing program are very positive. Seafood sold with the blue MSC label can be traced back to a sustainable source, and our robust chain of custody requirements provide reassurance that it’s correctly labelled.”

The latest round of DNA testing is the fifth to be commissioned by the MSC. Previous results also showed very little mislabelling. The results are captured in a new report, Ocean to plate: how DNA testing helps to ensure traceable sustainable seafood.

Mr Howes adds: “High profile food scares such as the European horsemeat scandal have left many consumers wary of claims made on food packaging. Food fraud undermines the efforts of reputable fishers and traders and has led to wide recognition of the need for credible traceability in the supply chain. The MSC Chain of Custody program is one of the most recognised and widely used ways of providing this reassurance to seafood consumers and businesses.”

Fishers, processors, retailers and chefs handling MSC certified sustainable seafood must follow strict requirements to ensure that seafood is traceable and correctly labelled. The MSC Chain of Custody Standard is used by international seafood suppliers, brands and retailers such as IKEA, McDonalds, Iglo and Lidl to ensure the integrity of their products.

Alfredd Schumm, WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative leader said: “By preferentially purchasing sustainable seafood, consumers are rewarding responsible fishers and their efforts to safeguard our marine resources. A traceable supply chain, from the consumer back to sustainable fisheries, is fundamental to consumers’ trust and confidence in the seafood they’re buying. The MSC’s requirements for traceability are essential if we are to maintain healthy fish populations and ocean ecosystems.”

There are more than 20,000 MSC labelled products available in around 100 countries.

The MSC has released a new animation showing the journey of MSC certified seafood from ocean to plate. Follow: #OceanToPlate.

Read the release online at Reuters

New DNA results answer consumers’ demand for trust in seafood

March 15, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Two-thirds (67 percent) of U.S. seafood consumers say they want to know that their fish can be traced back to a known and trusted source, with 58 percent saying they look to ecolabels as a trusted source of information. Globally, 55 percent doubt that the seafood they consume is what it says on the package. These findings are from the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) latest survey of more than 16,000 seafood consumers across 21 countries.

Today, the MSC also released results from DNA tests showing that over 99 percent* of MSC ecolabeled products are correctly labeled. In 2015, the MSC commissioned the Wildlife DNA Forensics unit at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) to conduct DNA tests on a random sample of 257 MSC ecolabeled seafood products from 16 countries. The test verifies that the species described on the packaging is the same as that in the product. By comparison, Oceana’s nationwide survey in 2013 found one-third (33 percent) of U.S. seafood samples genetically analyzed were mislabeled. 

Commenting on the results, Brian Perkins, MSC Regional Director – Americas, said, “The MSC’s DNA results prove you can trust that seafood sold with the blue MSC ecolabel really is what the package says it is and can be traced from ocean to plate. Last month, the U.S. government announced proposed rules that would require tracking to combat illegal fishing and fraud. Many businesses are left wondering whether they’re selling seafood that was produced legally and sustainably. MSC certification means consumers and businesses can be confident that MSC ecolabeled fish has been caught legally and can be traced back to a sustainable source.”

The latest round of DNA testing is the fifth to be commissioned by the MSC. Previous results also showed very little mislabeling of MSC ecolabeled seafood. The MSC’s DNA testing program and results are captured in a new report, Ocean to plate: How DNA testing helps to ensure traceable sustainable seafood.

MSC ecolabeled fish is sold and processed by certified organizations operating in more than 38,000 sites in over 100 countries. Fishers, processors, retailers and chefs handling MSC certified seafood must follow strict requirements to ensure that seafood is traceable and correctly labeled. The MSC Chain of Custody Standard is used by leading brands in driving awareness and consumer education on sustainable seafood such as Whole Foods, McDonald’s, and IKEA to ensure the integrity of the products they sell.

Susan Forsell, Vice President, Sustainability, McDonald’s USA said: “We know our customers care about where their food comes from, which is why McDonald’s USA is proud to only serve fish sourced from a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fishery. This means that our customers can confidently know that the wild-caught, Alaska Pollock they enjoy on our Filet-O-Fish sandwich can be traced back to sustainably managed fisheries, direct from the pristine waters of Alaska.”

Cape group pushes dogfish as viable seafood option

March 9, 2016 — BOSTON — The Seafood Expo is the largest seafood show in North America covering over 516,000 square feet of exhibition space this week at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

For the second year in a row, members of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance spent three days talking dogfish with international and national buyers and sellers, and executive chefs at the show as part of an ongoing campaign to put the small shark on restaurant menus and on the dinner table as a sustainably caught, local whitefish.

“I think the market is gigantic and, if you talk to the fishermen in Chatham, they will tell you, you can’t drop a hook in the water without getting a dogfish. Between those two facts, (the market) will continue to build over time, but it’s already gaining a lot of traction,” said Michael Dimin, founder of Sea to Table, a company that markets artisanal fish directly to chefs across the country.

Processers successfully campaigned to get dogfish certified by the Marine Stewardship Council a few years back because the population was booming and the dogfish daily trip limit is kept low at 5,000 pounds. Chatham catches about 6 million pounds out of the state’s 9 million pounds in annual landings. The total landings of 16 million pounds fall far below the 50 million pounds scientists consider a sustainable catch.

Compared with other species, dogfish, a small coastal shark, are close to shore and easy to catch. Cod are now far offshore, as are haddock, and monkfish involves a three-day trip, hundreds of miles roundtrip in relatively small boats.

Read the full story at Cape Cod Times

First US Live Lobster Traceability Program Launches at Whole Foods Market’s Portland, Maine Location and Adds Three New Members

March 5, 2016 — The following was released by Market Wired:

Trace My Lobster (http://tracemylobster.com), the first and only U.S. company to build a technology platform to trace a live lobster from its origins in the ocean to its destination on your plate, has added three new members to its growing list of participants: Maine Coast, Maine Fresh, and Calendar Islands. Over 60 lobstermen, three lobster wharves, three lobster dealers, and one national grocery chain now participate in the program that utilizes internet and smartphone technology to improve seafood traceability in the lobster fishery.

Since the program was launched at the Portland, Maine Whole Foods Market location two years ago, Trace My Lobster has been using uniquely coded tags, attached to every lobster caught by a participating lobsterman, to record when and where the lobster was caught, as well as the lobsterman who caught it. By entering the tag’s code online or using a smartphone app, consumers can follow the timeline of an individual lobster’s journey through the supply chain, verifying its source, freshness and story behind the lobsterman who caught it.

“As a leader in seafood sustainability and traceability initiatives, Whole Foods Market is pleased that our Portland, Maine location is the first grocery store in the U.S. to offer live lobster traceability from the lobster trap to the table using Trace My Lobster,” said Matt Mello, the North Atlantic Seafood Coordinator for Whole Foods Market. “Trace My Lobster is a meaningful way to showcase some of Maine’s hardest working lobstermen while providing full transparency to our customers.”

Trace My Lobster presents a new way for the lobster industry to meet the growing demand for seafood that is sustainably sourced, responsibly harvested, and reliably traced. In connecting lobstermen with retailers, the program provides participating grocery stores and restaurants the opportunity to distinguish themselves from their competitors by offering consumers complete transparency and fully traceable seafood. “The technology still relies on the traditional, and very important, supply chain between harvesters, wharfs dealers and distributors to bring the tagged lobster to market” stated Craig Rief, Founder of Trace My Lobster.

“Trace My Lobster is a unique and innovative program that allows us to convey the story behind the important connection we have with lobstermen and the high quality lobster our company is able to provide to our domestic and international customers,” said Tom Adams, CEO of Maine Coast, one of the newest participants in Trace My Lobster.

Trace My Lobster was developed in 2014 as a collaboration between Craig Rief and Jonathan Caron. Craig has over 10 years of experience in the lobster industry and currently serves as the President of the Maine Certified Sustainable Lobster Association, which represents some of the largest lobster companies in the U.S. and Canada. Jonathan has over 20 years of experience in technology and intellectual property through his previous employment at Vivendi Universal.

Joining Trace My Lobster is fast and easy for retailers. Grocery stores and restaurants can use their existing suppliers or Trace My Lobster can provide access to a list of participating suppliers. The same holds true for harvesters, wharfs and dealers that want to join.

“As an industry we have such a powerful story to tell, and believe that the Trace My Lobster program is a valuable and exciting innovation to help connect consumers with our narrative.” said Matt Jacobson, Executive Director of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative. “Our mission is to encourage both chefs and consumers to make it Maine when choosing what product to consume, and with this program we can deliver the rich stories of our lobstermen who are committed to sustainably harvesting the best lobster on earth.”

About Trace My Lobster (http://tracemylobster.com)

Trace My Lobster enables consumers to follow the journey of their live lobster from trap to table. Trace My Lobster visualizes a lobster’s true supply chain, connecting harvesters and consumers to a deeper understanding of the impact of lobster life-cycle from the ocean to the retailer. Trace My Lobster provides a comprehensive approach to supply chain transparency – a leading approach to traceable lobster and seafood traceability.

About Maine Coast (http://mainecoastcompany.com)

Maine Coast is a worldwide distributor of the finest North Atlantic seafood, specializing in shipping Maine and Canadian lobsters to both domestic and overseas locations. Maine Coast has more than 30 years of experience in the global seafood industry.

About Maine Fresh (http://maine-fresh.com)

Maine Fresh operates a lobster wharf in Harpswell, Maine and employs an innovative business model that uses natural foods from Maine and responsibly harvested seafood to produce value-added, healthy, good tasting foods in an effort to distribute a portion of its sale proceeds back to the community. Maine Fresh donates 10 percent of its online sales back to the community to support educational initiatives creating social change through transformative educational opportunities at the local and global levels.

About Calendar Islands (http://calendarislandsmainelobster.com)

Founded in 2009 Calendar Islands Maine Lobster Company is owned by 38 hard-working Maine lobstermen creating a true marriage of culinary distinction to the Maine Lobster fishery. With a goal making lobster available year-round, Calendar Islands is an industry leader in quality, value and new culinary concepts. No longer just a seasonal product, Calendar Islands value added Maine Lobster provides consumers an exciting variety of fresh and frozen products to energize and motivate the customer base. Calendar Islands supports the local community’s maritime heritage, respects the environment and its inherent link to the natural world.

About Whole Foods Market ® (http://wholefoodsmarket.com)

Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (wholefoodsmarket.com) (NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America’s first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” byHealth magazine. The company’s motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures its mission to ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to the company’s more than 88,000 team members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America byFORTUNE magazine for 18 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2014, the company had sales of more than $14 billion and currently has more than 430 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. For more company news and information, please visit media.wfm.com.

About the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (http://www.lobsterfrommaine.com/)

The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC), founded in 2013, is funded by Maine Lobster harvesters, dealers and processors to grow demand, both for whole live lobster and a variety of value-added products. The MLMC supports that objective by promoting the core values of the Maine Lobster industry, which are sustainability and traceability that’s deeply rooted in tradition. Maine Lobster achieved the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in 2013, allowing Maine Lobster to certify its long-standing sustainable practices. The industry has been self-regulating for more than 150 years.

Trace Seafood, LLC, the parent company of Trace My Lobster (http://tracemylobster.com), will be at this year’s Seafood Expo North America, at Booth 178.

Read the release here

MSC labelled products reach 20,000

February 23, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

LONDON – Today the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) reached an important milestone with the launch of the 20,000th MSC labelled product, Las Cuarenta Paella. The ready-made frozen meal is now available in Netto stores across Germany. The paella contains pollock from Alaska and Russia, blue shell mussels from Denmark, and shrimps from Suriname. 

A growing trend in new seafood products

The paella’s seafood mix comes from a diverse range of fisheries, from a developing world fishery in South America, to some of the world’s largest fisheries in North America and Europe. Each of these fisheries is committed to ensuring the health and sustainability of the fish stocks they harvest

“The 20,000th MSC labelled product, Las Cuarenta Paella, illustrates the growing trend in new seafood products. Over the last decade, we’ve seen new and novel ways MSC certified seafood is being used. From ready-made meals such as paella to sandwiches, pizza and baby food. Las Cuarenta paella is a fine example of how retailers and manufacturers are exploring new trends to attract more sustainable seafood lovers,” said Nicolas Guichoux, MSC’s Global Commercial Director. 

Thanks to the efforts of these and over 280 other certified fisheries, consumers in over 100 countries can choose from a variety of MSC labelled products covering more than 100 different species. Consumers can also be assured that MSC certified seafood has an effective, traceable supply chain which ensures the integrity of MSC labelled products.

“Nine years ago only 1,000 labelled products were on the market globally. So we celebrate this new important milestone, and honor all fisheries and retail partners whose commitment to sustainability has contributed to the growth of the MSC program around the world and played a part in securing a healthy future for our oceans,” added Nicolas Guichoux.

MSC in Germany

Germany is the MSC’s most developed market in terms of certified sustainable seafood consumption, with over 4,000 MSC certified products on sale. Netto is one of many retail partners committed to sourcing and selling MSC certified products in the country. The discounter offers a wide range of responsibly sourced seafood with more than 100 MSC-labelled products in store. Netto has made a long-term commitment to only source and sell seafood– from MSC certified sustainable fisheries. 

“We are very proud that the 20,000th MSC labelled product is a Netto product. With the growing availability of MSC certified seafood from a variety of species, we’ve been able to expand our range of products so that our customers can buy their favorite seafood in the knowledge that the environment is being safeguarded. MSC certified products play an important role in our corporate sustainability agenda,” said Christina Stylianou, Corporate Communications Director at Netto.

A label you can trust

The blue MSC label assures consumers that the fish they are buying comes from a sustainable and well-managed fishery that has been independently certified, ensuring that the fish populations and the ecosystems upon which they depend remain healthy and productive.

Any organization selling or handling MSC certified seafood must ensure that it is correctly labelled and kept separate from other non-certified seafood at all times. This ensures that MSC labelled seafood can be traced back to a sustainable source.

You can find these products in-store, online and in restaurants.