SSNI

CERTIFICATION

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organisation that sets globally recognised, science-based standards for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability.

The MSC ecolabel and certification program recognises and rewards sustainable fishing practices and is helping create a more sustainable seafood market. It is the only wild-capture fisheries certification and ecolabelling program that meets best practice requirements set by both the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) and ISEAL Alliance, the global membership association for sustainability standards.

For more than 20 years, the MSC has connected fishers, businesses and consumers who care about the future of our oceans. The MSC’s programme is open to all fisheries that wish to voluntarily demonstrate that their operations are sustainable, regardless of their location, size and fishing gear (see exclusions). To become certified, a fishery must show that the stock it targets is healthy, that it minimises its impact on the environment and other species and that it has effective management in place.

To be MSC certified fisheries must demonstrate that they operate sustainably. MSC certified fisheries also continue to improve so that they achieve best practice across all performance indicators in the MSC Standard, bringing about long-term change on the water. These improvements are often driven by the conditions of certification, which require fisheries to develop approved action plans in any area where they meet the required standard but do not yet meet global best practice.

The performance indicators fisheries have to meet are set out in the MSC Fisheries Standard. To keep up with scientific and technical advances in fishing, as well as what is understood to be global best practice, the Standard is reviewed on a five-year cycle using a transparent, wide consultation process to develop any proposed changes.

By choosing seafood with the blue MSC ecolabel, seafood consumers are helping to protect oceans, livelihoods and fish for the future.

Fisheries representing more than 17% of the world’s wild marine catch are engaged in our certification programme and more than 18,000 different MSC labelled products are available on shelves across the globe (figures correct as of 31 March 2020).

The MSC also works with NGOs, governments, researchers, retailers and funders around the world to create a pathway to sustainability for small-scale fisheries and fisheries in developing regions.

For more information, visit msc.org

Contact: Dr. Ranjit Suseelan, Consultant (India)

ranjit.suseelan@msc.org