2. Principle 1: Sustainable fish stocks
The fishing activity must be at a level which
ensures it can continue indefinitely
Principle 2: Minimizing environmental impact
Fishing operations must be managed to maintain the
structure, productivity, function and diversity of the
ecosystem
Principle 3: Effective management
The fishing must comply with relevant laws and
have a management system that is responsive to
changing circumstances
MSC Fisheries
Standard
MSC-C-54036
More information about
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
VISION
Our vision is of the world’s oceans teeming with life, and
seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations.
MISSION
Our mission is to use our ecolabel and fishery certification
program to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans by
recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices,
influencing the choices people make when buying seafood,
and working with our partners to transform the seafood
market to a sustainable basis.
FOCUS
• We collaborate with fishers, retailers, processors,
consumers and others to drive change
• We never compromise on the environmental
standards we set, nor on our independence
• We continue to lead the world in wild capture
fishery certification, with the most trusted,
recognized and credible seafood ecolabel.
STANDARDS
The MSC fisheries standard is designed to assess if a fishery
is well-managed and sustainable. It has been developed in
consultation with the fishing industry, scientists and
conservation groups. Only seafood from an MSC certified
fishery can carry the blue MSC ecolabel.
Certification to the MSC fisheries standard is voluntary. It is
open to all fisheries involved in the wild-capture of marine
or freshwater organisms. This includes most types of fish and
shellfish, of any size, type or location.
What is assessed?
There are three core principles that every fishery must meet:
MSC Fisheries Standard assessment tree
21 FACTS ABOUT MSC
1. Our vision is of the world’s oceans teeming with life, and
seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations
2. The MSC is a global program with fisheries participating from
all the world’s oceans
3. The MSC program assesses wild capture fisheries only
4. We do not certify fisheries, we set standards
5. The market for certified sustainable seafood creates an
incentive for fishery improvements
6. Fisheries in the MSC program can influence fishery policies
7. The MSC program has delivered environmental
improvements in fishery management
8. The MSC program uses the best available science
9. Every MSC certified fishery has demonstrated that it
maintains sustainable fish stocks, minimizes environmental
impacts and is effectively managed
10. The MSC program is transparent
11. We work collaboratively with stakeholders around the world
12. We work with fisheries in developing countries to ensure
there is equal access to the benefits of certification
13. We are a non-profit organization
14. We meet best practice for ecolabels and setting social and
environmental standards
15. MSC certification helps to safeguard livelihoods and sustain
communities
16. Buying MSC labelled fish makes a difference
17. You can be sure that seafood with the MSC ecolabel comes
from a certified sustainable fishery
18. 30% of shoppers across markets around the world recognize
the MSC ecolabel
19. Consumers respond positively to the promotion of certified
sustainable seafood
20. Our ‘Fish & Kids’ project teaches the next generation why
seafood matters
21. The MSC is widely recognized as the leader in the sustainable
seafood labelling field
The above information is from the MSC website. For more information, visit www.msc.org
To determine if each principle is met, the MSC fisheries
standard comprises 28 performance indicators. These are
used by independent conformity assessment bodies (CABs)
to score the fishery.