Sustainable fishing, can we be trusted? An investigation lifts the veil on the other side of MSC certification

    Sustainable fishing, can we be trusted? An investigation lifts the veil on the other side of MSC certification

    Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

    The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard is the largest fisheries certification program in the world that ensures the sustainability of this practice. But is it really so? An investigation by The Guardian questions the guarantees offered by this label.





    The MSC label is supposed to ensure sustainability in fishing operations but The Guardian newspaper wonders if the well-known certification is really just a marketing strategy. The doubt comes from considering the situation of the right whales (Eubalaena) in the North Atlantic which, in serious danger (only 356 remain), become entangled in fishing gear, even of those companies then certified with the well-known ecological quality mark for fishing, considered by many to be the best.

    This month, the Guardian reads, two right whales in the Gulf of San Lorenzo were found entangled in fishing gear. A female was first spotted off Cape Code last year, but rescuers were unable to free her completely; the other was a male and is believed to have been entangled in the Gulf.

    The main threat remains human contact: getting caught in fishing gear or colliding with ships. Fatal encounters, caused in part by the migratory movement of whales into Canadian snow crab areas, have soared: more than a tenth of the population died or was seriously injured between 2017 and 2021, mostly in Canada and the New England.

    One of the threats facing whales comes from the growing fishing of crabs and lobsters. When they migrate from Florida to feed in Canada, they come into contact with fishing companies. And in this case they risk dying in a "truly traumatizing" way, as declared Kate O'Connell, marine wildlife consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute.

    If a whale becomes entangled, the ropes of the buoys on the surface and traps on the bottom can get stuck in its skin, weighing the animal down and making it unable to swim or feed properly, ultimately leading to a truly painful death.


    But what makes it even more concerning for conservationists is that some of the fisheries that appear to threaten the right whale have been certified as 'sustainable' by the largest fisheries certification program in the world - the Marine Stewardship Council.


    The MSC went from 315 certified fisheries in 2017 to 421 (14% of all global fish landings). In the past year, the products under his label were worth $ 12 billion.  

    Already the controversial Netflix documentary Seaspiracy had accused the label of certifying even with a high level of "bycatch", or species that are not of interest for fishing purposes, such as dolphins and turtles, which are however caught in the nets.

    And it is precisely what environmentalists criticize most about this certification, namely not taking into account the problem of marine animals, in particular sharks and cetaceans, which mistakenly end up in fishing gear. In 2018, several conservation groups and academics (66 gathered together) accused the MSC of failing to best protect species not directly involved in fisheries.

    The MSC denied the allegations and, along with several other organizations, accused Seaspiracy directors of making "misleading" claims.  

    But, writes The Guardian:

    The plight of the right whales shows just how fine the line MSC has to cross between conservationists and the fishing industry, and has reignited a heated debate over what it means to see a blue MSC label on a seafood package at the supermarket. Certainly, the presence of MSC-certified fisheries along the migratory route of one of the most endangered mammals in the world has become emblematic of the contradictions that the organization faces. Even one dead whale per year brings the species close to extinction. 


    Critics then argue that the very nature of the MSC model, with companies paying to be certified, poses a conflict of interest that does not lead to anything good.

    Is the MSC, the world's largest fisheries certification scheme, still fit for purpose? The situation appears to be quite controversial.


    Some believe so, such as Ruth Westcott, campaign coordinator at the Sustain environmental alliance, who stated how, in the absence of precise political choices aimed at caring for the Oceans, talking about labels and standards:

    the MSC is definitely the best we have.

    We too had talked about it in good faith in the following article dedicated to the importance of sustainable fishing: Sustainable fishing: why it is so important for all of us and for our planet.

    Currently, in order to have the MSC label, the fishing activity is controlled by independent “conformity assessment bodies” (Cabs) which visit the fishing areas by evaluating all the available data. It takes up to 18 months for the whole procedure and environmental organizations in the meantime can object to the certification if they believe it is not enough by placing additional conditions. A system that actually seems to work, considering that a quarter of all new evaluations in the last 5 years have not come to an end with the release of the label.

    However, all this may not be enough, considering for example the situation of right whales. But maybe something is moving, albeit slowly. MSC has in fact made it known that it is reviewing its fishing standards necessary to obtain certification. This will be a “more precautionary approach” towards the most endangered and protected species. However, the changes will not take effect until at least 2023-2025, with a difference between new fisheries and those already certified.

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    Source: The Guardian

    Read also:

    • Protecting the Oceans is the real vaccine for humanity and the Planet
    • These giants of the deep are shrinking: right whales shorter than a meter from fishing nets
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