Saving Seafood

Op-ed: Marine Stewardship Council: Urgent international collaboration needed to safeguard our ocean

September 13, 2023 — The Marine Stewardship Council is an international nonprofit organization that sets globally recognized standards for sustainable fishing and the seafood supply chain. Fisheries representing 19 percent of the world’s wild marine catch are engaged in its certification program.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the non-profit responsible for the world’s leading sustainable seafood eco-label, is calling on global leaders to recognize the vital role of sustainable fishing in delivering urgent progress to safeguard our ocean, livelihoods, and food supplies.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Alliance of Historic California Squid Producers Achieves MSC Certification

August 2, 2o23 — California’s historic market squid fishery is making history again: It has achieved Marine Stewardship Council certification.

The premier market squid fishery in California has a long history, dating back to the mid-1800s, when Chinese immigrants fished out of skiffs in Monterey Bay, using torches of burning fat pine to attract squid. Now, an alliance of six historic California squid processors recently announced that California’s market squid fishery has achieved MSC certification, the recognized pinnacle of sustainability in fishery management.

The California market squid purse seine fishery also is being evaluated under a different certifier, for a different client group.

The Alliance of California squid processors includes Cal Marine Fish Company, Monterey Fish Company, Southern Cal Seafood, Southern Coast Trading, Neptune Foods and J. DeLuca Fish Company. The group represents multiple generations of fish buyers and fishermen, dating back 80 years or more, who have produced the lion’s share of the market squid landed in the Golden State, according to a press release from the group.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

ALASKA: Alaska Official Hits Out at Marine Stewardship Council Over Russian Fish

July 27, 2023 — Alaska’s fish and game commissioner has tough words for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the seafood certification body whose familiar blue-fish logo can be found in every supermarket. MSC certifies the sustainability of fisheries around the world, based on stock levels, management practices and environmental impact – but not the politics or warfighting posture of the coastal state. Alaska Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang disagrees: he believes that Russia’s belligerence in Ukraine should be a disqualifier for Russian fishing vessels, and that Russian fish should not be marketed with the same “sustainable” check mark as Alaskan fish.

“MSC . . . has observed Russian actions in Ukraine, assessed the implications for its Russian client fisheries, and chosen a path of accommodation and appeasement,” Vincent-Lang argued in an editorial this week.

Vincent-Lang took a step further and accused MSC of ignoring the invasion in order to keep receiving revenue from Russian members. “[This] gravely misleads consumers and markets who believe that the seafood they are buying is certified to the highest environmental and ethical standards,” he asserted, and letting Russian fishermen keep MSC certification “denigrates the certification” of Alaska fishermen by association.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

New review shows bottom trawling is sustainable (when well-managed)

July 20, 2023 — The following is an excerpt from an article published by Sustainable Fisheries UW:

Seafood produced by bottom trawling can have a lower environmental impact than chicken or pork, according to a new review paper published yesterday. Writing in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, Hilborn et al. 2023 argues that banning bottom trawling would increase negative environmental impacts by increasing terrestrial protein production.

Hilborn et al. 2023, reviewed dozens of papers about bottom trawling impact, including stock sustainability, bycatch, ecosystem impact, and carbon footprint. Though bottom trawling is generally the most impactful kind of fishing, well-managed bottom trawl fisheries produce food with a much lower environmental impact than any terrestrial animal protein.

A review paper summarizes the current knowledge on a particular topic by combing through and presenting conclusions from recent publications. In this case, Hilborn et al. 2023 reviewed the existing literature on the environmental impacts of bottom trawling and summarized four major impacts: Sustainability of target species, impact on benthic ecosystems, bycatch and discard, carbon emissions.

The key to reducing impacts and sustaining fisheries is management. Bottom trawling can be a low-impact form of food production in places with effective management. Bottom trawling can be highly destructive in areas with little capacity for environmental management (like many developing nations in Asia).

In this post, we summarize the findings from the four major impacts, discuss what effective bottom trawling management looks like, and compare the environmental impact of bottom trawling to other forms of food production.

Read the full article at Sustainable Fisheries UW

McDonald’s China adds the MSC ecolabel to its sustainable seafood menu

June 15, 2023 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

McDonald’s China and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) have announced that the restaurant chain will now include the blue MSC ecolabel on McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich, Double Fish burger and Kids Fish Fillet burger, served in more than 5,000 restaurants in China.

 
The announcement expands McDonald’s global commitment to source sustainable seafood and will give its Chinese customers confidence that the fish in these products comes from fisheries certified to the MSC’s world-leading standard for sustainable wild-capture fisheries. Recent consumer research suggests that Chinese consumers increasingly value the importance of sustainable seafood with ‘environmentally friendly or sustainably sourced’ ranking fourth in factors motivating seafood purchase in China.
 
Nearly 3,500 tonnes of MSC certified whitefish are sold in McDonald’s China every year with McDonald’s working with fish suppliers including Weidao and Tyson Foods together with the MSC.
 
This announcement comes as the MSC celebrates 10 years since it opened an office in China.  In that time, the number of MSC labelled products in the country has increased from 10 to more than 200. The MSC has also seen considerable growth in the number of Chinese supply chain companies, retailers and fisheries engaging in the MSC programme.  
 
The MSC’s Chief Executive Officer, Rupert Howes, who was in China to celebrate the launch of these products, said: “The MSC and McDonald’s have been promoting sustainable seafood together since 2011. As an important partner of the MSC, McDonald’s has brought fish products with the MSC ecolabel to consumers in Europe, the US, Japan and other countries. McDonald’s China commitment is a huge opportunity to build our partnership in this important market,  to meet the growing consumer demand for sustainable seafood in China.”
 
Ms. Gu Lei, Chief Impact Officer of McDonald’s China, said: “McDonald’s China insists on providing consumers with fresh, safe and natural high-quality ingredients, and at the same time is actively building a sustainable supply chain to reduce damage to the environment through its seafood procurement. It is a pleasure to receive the authoritative certification of MSC. This is an affirmation of McDonald’s China’s influence in the supply chain in helping to ensure the continuous supply of high-quality seafood. We will continue to help protect the vitality of the ocean.”
 
To celebrate the announcement, which was made on World Ocean Day (Thursday 8 June 2023), McDonalds Shanghai Longteng Da restaurant has been decorated to give customers an immersive ocean experience. Customers purchasing the newly MSC-labelled products will also receive a fish-shaped fortune stick made from recycled oceanic plastic (see photos).
 
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organisation which sets globally recognised standards for sustainable fishing and the seafood supply chain. Fisheries representing 19% of the world’s wild marine catch are engaged in its certification programme.For more information visit msc.org or visit our social media pages

MSC commits to expansion, advocates nonprofit model for sustainability certifications

May 16, 2023 — At its Seafood Futures Forum on 25 April at the 2023 Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) executive said they will continue for more fisheries certificaiton and wider acceptance and uptake of sustainable seafood.

The event featured MSC Chief Executive Rupert Howes, MSC Chief Program Officer Nicolas Guichoux, and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Fisheries and Aquaculture Division Director Manuel Barange, and was attended by more than 300 seafood industry stakeholders.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MSC sets out strategy for expansion of sustainable seafood

April 26, 2023 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has today set out its new strategy to support the growth of sustainable seafood.

Speaking at the MSC’s Seafood Futures Forum, Chief Executive, Rupert Howes, said that the not-for-profit standard setter would continue to maintain world-leading Standards for sustainable fishing while expanding market opportunities that incentivise more sustainable fishing globally. This strategy will see an increased focus on research and advocacy efforts which support MSC certified fisheries and those on their journey to sustainability. To help fisheries fund the improvements needed, the MSC is expanding its Ocean Stewardship Fund while also opening up its In-Transition to MSC programme to all fisheries.

“Climate change and overexploitation present an existential threat to our oceans and seafood supplies,” said Howes. “The last year has seen breakthroughs in a number of international agreements, including on ocean biodiversity which,  if implemented, could help safeguard our shared ocean. The MSC will support governments, industry, fishers, scientists and conservationists to build on this momentum and turn pledges into tangible progress.”

During the event, Professor Manuel Barange, Director for Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) set out the importance of food from oceans, rivers and lakes in delivering the UN’s  Sustainable Development Goals in line with the its Blue Transformation agenda. “There is now wide acceptance across governments that aquatic foods will play a fundamental role in feeding a growing population while reducing carbon emissions and pressure on land-based sources of food – but only if it is produced in a sustainable way,” said Barange.“Emerging policies, investment and support for aquatic foods offer new opportunities for seafood businesses to transform the way they operate.”

At the event, MSC’s Chief Programme Officer, Nicolas Guichoux set out the recent trends and developments within fisheries and markets for sustainable seafood.  At the end of March 2023, 19% of the global seafood catch was either certified or in assessment to the MSC Standard with 42 new fisheries achieving MSC certification in the past year, representing 15 different species. Tuna and pollock remain the dominant certified species. In addition, fisheries in Latin America and Indonesia have seen significant improvement. Tunacons in Ecuador, for example, achieved MSC certification for the first time in 2022 following a 5 year fisheries improvement project.

The value of MSC labelled sales continues to increase (up 9% from 1 April 2022). There has been significant growth in sustainable seafood sales in Southern Europe, North America and Japan as a result of increased commitments by important companies such as Lidl, Findus, Bolton and Walmart.

“Increasing consumer awareness of the impact that food has on the planet is influencing retailers’ sourcing policies and therefore the way the ocean is fished,” said Guichoux. To support this transformation, in June, the MSC will launch a new campaign “It all starts here” for World Ocean Day 2023 and 2024. It is encouraging the seafood community and consumers alike to join the campaign to support a healthy, thriving  ocean.

 

MSC sets goal of mobilizing USD 100 million to protect ocean resources

April 13, 2023 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has set an “ambitious” goal of an USD 100 million (EUR 91 million) expansion of its Ocean Stewardship Fund.

The fund, the MSC said, has a main goal of ending overfishing, and will help “safeguard the ocean” along with supplies of sustainable seafood. The organization is encouraging philanthropic organizations, businesses, and governments to contribute to the fund to assist a range of fisheries research and innovation.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ISSF aims for full MSC certification from participating companies

April 11, 2023 — The newest strategic plan from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is keeping Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as a central tenant as the organization advocates for more sustainable wild-caught seafood.

The ISSF Strategic Plan for 2023-2027, “Continuously Improving Global Tuna Fishery Sustainability,” was released 28 February, 2023. The plan highlights ISSF research, advocacy, and its approach to achieving tuna fishery sustainability in participating companies for the next five years, including full implementation of a plan for MSC certification.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource