Life as we know it on Earth depends on fisheries being managed sustainably

TORONTO - According to the UNFAO, sustainable fishing practices are crucial to a world without hunger and malnutrition. They eliminate harmful practices like overfishing and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing which can lead to the collapse of marine ecosystems, threaten workers' livelihoods, exacerbate poverty, all while further endangering the world's food security.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a not-for-profit dedicated to combatting overfishing, protecting seafood supplies, and keeping our ocean healthy and teeming with life, released promising new data today. In 2020 there were 100 improvements made by fisheries as part of being certified to the MSC sustainability standard. This standard has been recognized by the UNFAO and UN Environment programme in 2020 as an important force for good in tackling overfishing, protecting marine diversity, and keeping the ocean healthy [1].

Incredibly, over half of the improvements made by MSC-certified fisheries relate to endangered, threatened, and protected species [2]. Some improvements were those made by a Canadian Haddock Fishery which implemented new measures to aid the recovery of thorny skate, which is classified as vulnerable and an Australian Tuna Fishery which has introduced mitigation tools and electronic monitoring on all vessels to minimise harm to protected species. 

Fifteen of the improvements helped enhance fisheries' understanding and management of impacts on local ecosystems and habitats. These included an Icelandic Shrimp Fishery which supported research into seabed mapping in efforts to avoid causing harm to delicate deep-sea sponge clusters. Twenty improvements were aimed at fishery management while eleven others upgraded the status of target fish stocks.

This progress comes at a time when there is increasing concern about the unprecedented pressures placed on our ocean. As highlighted by a recent UN Assessment report [3] there are many areas where urgent action is needed to avoid losing marine biodiversity – with tackling overfishing being a central part of this.

Dr Rohan Currey, Chief Science & Standards Officer at the Marine Stewardship Council said "Sustainable seafood plays a vital role in feeding the world's growing population and the resilience of our marine ecosystems depend on fisheries being managed sustainably. I can't stress this enough; unsustainable fishing practices are a serious threat to the biodiversity, productivity of our ocean and life as we know it on Earth. It's our responsibility to be part of the solution and we know that with proper management, depleted stocks and damaged ecosystems can recover.

Over 400 MSC-certified fisheries around the world are already leading the way in best practice. Often working closely with local agencies and scientific bodies they also help drive research and innovation - adding to the body of knowledge in fisheries science.  

As we enter this crucial UN Decade of Ocean Science, it's vital that we accelerate collaboration and progress across the globe if sustainable ocean outcomes are to be achieved long-term."

To be certified as sustainable, fisheries must reach the rigorous requirements set by the MSC. But many fisheries are also given conditions of certification which mean they must make improvements to some of their practices within a specified time frame. In this way, fisheries engaged in the MSC programme are incentivized to improve their performance towards global best practise.   

Steve Devitt, Director of Sustainability, Atlantic Groundfish Council said "We believe the future of tomorrow is based on the decisions we make today, and this is evidenced by our ongoing commitment in four MSC fishery certifications in Eastern Canada.

The MSC certification program not only embraces a culture of continuous improvement, but also provides a clear signal to consumers that the fish and seafood they choose to put on their plates was harvested with the health of the ocean in mind. 

We're proud to report that since being MSC certified, the Canada Scotia-Fundy haddock fishery has continued to develop and implement measures to prevent this fishery from undermining the recovery of other valuable ecosystem components."