April 11, 2023 — The following was released by Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has today announced an ambitious goal to mobilise US$100 million to help safeguard the ocean and sustainable seafood supplies over the next decade. The announcement marks a significant expansion of the MSC’s Ocean Stewardship Fund which aims to end overfishing.

Philanthropic organisations, businesses and governments are encouraged to contribute to the fund, which has already delivered more than 100 grants, including almost 40 in emerging economies.  These funds assist a wide range of fisheries and invest in research and innovation to improve fishing practices on the water.

Beneficiaries have included Indonesian fishers adapting to the impacts of climate change on blue swimming crabs, South African fisheries reducing bird bycatch, and artisanal fishers in the Mediterranean trialling new technology to protect stingrays. A new project to assess the risks of climate change for wild-capture fisheries and help them to adapt in the future has also received funding.

The challenge facing the ocean is enormous. Consumption of seafood is rising rapidly whilst over a third of global fish stocks are being exploited at unsustainable levels. The pressures of feeding a burgeoning global population, combined with the detrimental effects of climate change demands stronger, urgent action, hence the scale-up of the Ocean Stewardship Fund.

The MSC is a world-leader in knowledge and expertise of sustainable fishing. It has 25 years of experience of promoting and delivering progress globally, with over 600 fisheries engaged in its certification programme. Since 2018 the not for profit has committed to allocate 5% of the income it generates from licensing the use of the MSC ecolabel on sales of sustainable seafood to the Ocean Stewardship Fund. The fund opened to third-party donations in 2022.

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the MSC, said: “In the five years since its creation, the Ocean Stewardship Fund has supported an impressive range of projects, including many innovative collaborations between fisheries and scientists.  We are extremely grateful to our funders, partners and supporters who share our vision of a healthy thriving ocean. If we want to enjoy seafood today and into the future, we need to respond to the scale of the challenges facing the ocean. By mobilising US$100 million over ten years, we can support many more communities and businesses around the world which are reliant on the ocean for food, security and livelihoods.” 

The MSC has already received generous philanthropic donations for the fund from the MAVA Foundation and Hans Wilsford Foundation, as well as from the Walton Family Foundation for a loan guarantee facility. Expanding the Ocean Stewardship Fund, in collaboration with environmental investment advisory firm Clarmondial, will enable the MSC to help more fisheries, particularly small-scale producers and those in emerging economies to realise the benefits of sustainable fishing.

December 14, 2022 — The following was released by Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has today announced that its Ocean Stewardship Fund which supports sustainable fishing globally, is more than halfway to its goal of mobilising US$10 million. 

The MSC, the not for profit responsible for the world’s leading programme for sustainable seafood certification and the bluefish tick label, launched its Ocean Stewardship Fund in 2018.  The Fund is a special funding vehicle which to date has been primarily supported by the MSC’s allocation of 5% of annual royalties received from sales of seafood with the MSC blue label.

In 2021-22, with support from the environmental investment company, Clarmondial, the MSC sought to more than double the funds available for the Ocean Stewardship Fund through third-party funding.

Third-party funders supporting the Ocean Stewardship Fund include the MAVA Fondation Pour La Nature which has given US$791,000 for projects in West Africa and the Mediterranean, the Walton Family Foundation which has contributed a US$1 million grant to establish a Loan Guarantee Facility for fisheries certified or working towards the MSC’s globalstandard for sustainable fishing, and $US1.05 million unrestricted funding from the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation.

The MSC also received US$100,000 from the Global Environment Facility, via the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) which will boost US$243,000 already awarded by the Ocean Stewardship Fund for a project on climate change.

In 2022 the Ocean Stewardship Fund awarded US$854,000 towards projects including research which focuses on helping to safeguard marine biodiversity. At least half of the grants will support fisheries in developing economies, such as Indonesia, Mexico and India. The Fund has awarded around US$4.4 million in total grants.

This month, the Ocean Stewardship Fund also allocated funds for a new project to support Portuguese fisheries – 90% of which are small-scale – to improve their sustainability practises.

The MSC is calling on funders that want to secure the future of a thriving and healthy ocean, while also safeguarding seafood supplies and livelihoods, to help reach the milestone of US$10 million.

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the Marine Stewardship Council, said: “The Ocean Stewardship Fund is helping toaccelerate vital progress in understanding of and commitments to sustainable fishing. Grants awarded so far range from research into new technologies that reduce the impacts of fishing on wildlife, through to projects to rebuild fish stocks, tocommunity programmes to assess and identify opportunities for improvement. We are extremely grateful for the generous contributions made by the MAVA Foundation, Walton Family Foundation and Hans Wilsdorf Foundation who share our vision of healthy oceans teaming with life and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations. By scaling upthe Ocean Stewardship Fund we hope to accelerate progress in sustainable fishing, supporting greater collaboration and understanding between the fishing industry, governments, scientists and conservationists, for the benefit of us all.”

December 5, 2022 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has today congratulated delegates of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) for a significant breakthrough on the agreement of important measures to safeguard the world’s largest tuna stock.

Last week government representatives from the 26 member states of the WCPFC met face to face for the first time in three years in Da Nang, Vietnam. Agreement on harvest strategies – something which members had so far failed to achieve, despite many years of negotiation – is vital for securing the long-term health of tuna stocks as well as ongoing MSC certification.

At the conclusion of the meeting on Saturday 3^rd December, delegates  reached agreement on a number of measures relating to harvest strategies.  These measures will now act as guiding principles for future fisheries management, creating a ‘safety net’ to allow tuna stocks to recover should they ever fall below currently sustainable levels.

Most significantly, the Commission agreed to adopt a harvest strategy for skipjack – the most abundant tuna species in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). The Commission also reaffirmed its commitment to put in place harvest strategies for all tuna species before stocks fall below sustainable levels.

This follows a landmark agreement by the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) less than two weeks ago to adopt a harvest strategy for Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Dr Rohan Currey, Chief Science & Standards Officer at the MSC who was in Vietnam for the Commission meeting said: “Multilateral agreements aren’t easy, especially when they cover some of the largest and most complex fisheries on the planet, so this is a significant accomplishment for all involved. With this new commitment from the WCPFC following just after the agreement on a harvest strategy for Atlantic bluefin, we may be  seeing an encouraging ‘sea change’ in multilateral fisheries management.

“The measures agreed by the WCPFC are a significant step forward in safeguarding some of the World’s most abundant and economically important tuna stocks. There is however still much work to be done to ensure effective harvest strategies are in place for all tuna stocks in the region. I encourage everyone involved to capitalise on to the momentum created in Da Nang to drive forward their plans to deliver further safeguards for tuna fisheries in the region over the coming years.“

The agreements reached in Da Nang will now be reviewed by the independent conformity assessment bodies (CABs) responsible for certifying 33 tuna fisheries in the WCPO to the MSC Fisheries Standard.

Tuna fisheries which continue to meet the minimum requirements of MSC certification will have the opportunity to adopt the new version  of the MSC Fisheries Standard early, giving them five years to meet new requirements for more comprehensive, state-of-the-art harvest strategies.

November 21, 2022 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is calling on member governments of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to pass important conservation management measures for tuna stocks at the 19^th Regular Session of the Commission, taking place in Da Nang, Vietnam from 27 November to 03 December.

These measures will safeguard the long-term sustainability of the world’s most important tuna stocks by committing fishing nations to pre-agreed actions to safeguard tuna stocks should they ever decline below sustainable levels.

Progress on agreeing harvest strategies is increasingly critical to the ongoing certification of these fisheries to the MSC’s global standard for sustainable fishing. A lack of progress in delivering workplans for the implementation of harvest strategies is eroding the rationale for tuna fisheries in the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) meeting minimum requirements of MSC certification for available harvest control rules (HCRs).

To ensure ongoing MSC certification, WCPFC delegates must reach agreement on two key conservation management measures, which would result in the implementation of a harvest strategy for skipjack tuna and demonstrate progress towards delivering harvest strategies for other tuna stocks within the region. The outcomes of the meeting will be considered collectively by the Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) responsible the certification of all 33 MSC certified tuna fisheries in the WCPO to determine whether they provide the evidence needed to support ongoing certification.

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the MSC said: “Failure by the WCPFC to implement harvest strategies would jeopardise the long-term health of these stocks and undermine the progress made by WCPO fisheries, which have worked hard to improve their sustainability and meet the MSC’s global standard for environmentally responsible and sustainable fishing.

“These fisheries, which include skipjack, yellowfin, albacore and bigeye tuna in the Western Central Pacific represent the majority of this economically vital catch. The call for harvest strategies is being reiterated by leading retailers, tuna brands, the fishing industry and NGOs worldwide. Effective fisheries management, including harvest strategies, forms a cornerstone of the United Nation’s code of conduct for sustainable fishing and is central to delivering the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goal 14 to safeguard life below water. As a result, we hope to see a strong endorsement for the conservation measures tabled for negotiation at next week’s meeting.”

In addition to continuing to meet minimum requirements, all tuna fisheries in the WCPFC have timebound conditions to implement stronger harvest strategies with well-defined HCRs by June 2023 to remain certified to version 2 of the MSC Fisheries Standard. An agreement to adopt harvest strategies for skipjack at the upcoming meeting could close this condition for MSC certified skipjack fisheries. For certified fisheries targeting other tuna species, convincing progress towards agreeing HCRs could provide the opportunity to remain certified beyond June 2023 by adopting requirements within the new MSC Fisheries Standard. These new requirements allow an additional five years for fisheries to implement state-of-the-art harvest strategies, while adopting the other significant improvements included in the new Standard.

MSC representatives will be observing the WCPFC meeting.

Further information on the challenge facing MSC certified tuna fisheries in the WCPO is available on msc.org.