New program to accelerate sustainable fishing practices

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has launched a new initiative aimed to accelerate progress in sustainable fishing practices worldwide.

The newly launched MSC Improvement Program offers fisheries additional support and incentives on their pathway to MSC certification. The aim is to assess these fisheries to the MSC Fisheries Standard within five years with an independently verified action plan.

“With the launch of the MSC Improvement Program, we are offering a new solution to commercial companies that seek greater assurance around their fishery improvement plans and faster progress towards MSC certification,” says MSC Chief Program Officer Nicolas Guichoux.

“They can be confident that when they source from Improvement Program fisheries, those fisheries are committed to achieving certification.”

Once fisheries participating in the MSC Improvement Program achieve performance and traceability requirements, retail products containing their seafood can display a back-of-pack statement indicating their participation in the program.

The Improvement Program launches after a successful five-year pilot of the In-Transition to MSC (ITM) program, which began in 2019 and expanded from Mexico, South Africa, and Indonesia to all fisheries. In August, ICV Africa, part of the South African Albacore tuna pole-and-line fishery, became the first to achieve full certification.

Products with seafood that meet the MSC Fisheries Standard will continue to be eligible to use the MSC blue fish tick label and claim front of pack.