Fisheries Science & the MSC Standard
Welcome back to week 4 of my National Seafood Month campaign with the Marine Stewardship Council!
This week, we’re getting a tiny bit more technical and talking about the science and research that goes into the MSC Standards. As a fisheries scientist (one that just defended her thesis), I am a firm believer in the scientific process and was curious about the data supporting the MSC certification criteria. In order for these types of certifications to be effective and really make a difference in fisheries management, they need to be rooted in the most up-to-date fisheries science.
I have been very fortunate in my career to work alongside some incredibly talented scientists who are doing all kinds of different data collection, research, and assessment to try to drive positive change in the seafood industry. At the end of the day, it’s impossible to make informed decisions about the future of our fisheries and oceans without up-to-date, comprehensive science to base it on.
If you recall from week two and my conversation with Kurtis Hayne, the MSC criteria for sustainability was developed in collaboration with, among others, fisheries scientists, and is a reflection of globally acceptable best practice for fisheries. The kind of rigour that’s used to shape the MSC certification criteria is in part what makes the label so strong and less susceptible to things like greenwashing, mislabelling, and fraud.
Having a certification program that’s grounded in the most up to date, rigorous sciences means that the MSC standard is:
A modern standard for modern times
Working with the world’s leading fisheries scientists, industry experts and NGOs ensures that the MSC sustainability criteria reflects the most up to date globally acceptable best practice for fisheries. This ensures that their standard is current and based on where fisheries are today, not where they were 30 years ago.
Adapting to a changing world
The world is changing and so are fisheries. Things like climate change are impacting marine ecosystems and fish behaviour, and ensuring that fishery certifications are based on sound science and proven management approaches contributes to MSC certified fisheries being more resilient to the pressures of climate change,
MSC collaborations with scientists for a healthy ocean
Of course, the MSC relies on scientists to brief, consult, and provide the data necessary to shape their certification program to ensure their standards are a reflection of globally accepted best practices. However, they also collaborate with scientists in other ways to improve the overall health of the marine ecosystem. Here are three noteworthy projects the MSC is collaborating with scientists on:
- Monitoring socioeconomic impacts of MSC certification
The impact of the MSC program on environmental sustainability is an established area of research. However, the social and economic effects that occur as a result of certification are less well understood. This is actually something that I (and others) have critiqued the MSC certification for in the past. In order to address this, the MSC has taken on this research collaboration which will help them to understand the positive, negative, direct and indirect socioeconomic consequences of the MSC program. - Innovation in managing fishing impacts on marine habitats
MSC certified fisheries need to show there is no serious or irreversible harm on habitats from their fishing activities. In some instances this means understanding how their activities impact the seabed. To help them do this, the MSC is working with researchers at Bangor University, creating software that fisheries assessors can use to better measure the impacts of fishing gear and vessels. It will draw on available habitat data and identify the combinations of habitat and fishing gear types that lead to serious damage. - Managing shifting stocks in the wake of climate change
As climate change continues to have an impact on our oceans, more fish species are moving towards the poles and out of their normal habitats in search of colder waters. In order to track and manage fish stocks as they adapt these new migration patterns, the MSC is working with Pew Charitable Trust on a project that will test options for an adaptive allocation system in order to sustainably manage shifting stocks across U.S State management boundaries.
How the MSC makes fisheries science more accessible
Of course, collecting data and conducting research isn’t easy. It requires a lot of human capital and often, financial capital. This capital isn’t always accessible in smaller fishing communities and historically, has left them disadvantaged. This issue is incredibly important to me, as most of my work is within small-scale fisheries and I’ve grown quite familiar with the unique obstacles they face. Oftentimes, small-scale fisheries can be challenged in meeting the criteria for certifications and other sustainability programs, even if their fishery is well managed, simply because they don’t have the resources to prove it through data. Eventually, this puts them at a market disadvantage when they can’t make certain sustainability claims about their product.
I’m really glad that the MSC has recognized this issue and is taking steps to support data-limited fisheries, so that they can gain the same market access as fisheries with more resources.
Through one of their research collaborations with scientists, the MSC is working to develop a user-friendly fishery simulation tool, which will help data-limited fisheries understand the best approach to take to improve their fisheries to achieve MSC certification. Understanding their options more clearly will ensure they have the best chance of meeting sustainability requirements.
Stay tuned for more information on how the MSC is supporting small-scale fisheries on November 4!
Monitoring & Evaluation
In order to ensure the effectiveness of the MSC certification program and make sure it is delivering the impacts promised (read: delivering on its mission), the MSC regularly monitors, evaluates and reports on the environmental and social impacts of the programs. They collect information about the program, including data from fishery public certification reports (PCR). These contain the fishery scores for every performance indicator in the MSC Fisheries Standard, and are publicly available in the Track a Fishery portal.
The MSC also uses external databases, including the RAM Legacy Database, FAO global capture production database and ICES stock assessment database, to validate conclusions reached in certifiers’ reports. All of the third-party certifiers evaluation reports can be viewed on their website, as well.
I actually didn’t even realize this before, but the MSC also makes all of their evaluation methodologies available to the public. So, if you ever have concerns about bias in their evaluation, you can contact a member of their Strategic Research team for access to their data. (This is the type of transparency that we LOVE to see!)
By monitoring and evaluating certified fisheries regularly, the MSC is able to track the impacts MSC certified fisheries have had on ocean health and sustainability. Today, 14% of all wild marine catch is MSC certified and an additional 15% is in some stage of the MSC certification process. This reflects a 2 million tonne increase in the amount of fish being sustainably harvested from certified fisheries. Meaning more sustainable seafood for people around the globe than ever before.
Fisheries science also shows that if this trajectory continues, we’ll be able to feed more people than ever from the oceans. Scientists have estimated that we could safely harvest 16 million tonnes more seafood each year from our oceans if all fish stocks are managed sustainably.
As more and more fisheries join the MSC program, we’re seeing an increase in the amount of sustainable seafood becoming available and a positive improvement in the sustainability of fisheries around the globe. This is because the MSC program requires fisheries not only to be sustainable but to achieve best practice in maintaining healthy stocks, environmental protection and effective management. This means most fisheries are given extra conditions as part of their certification.
These conditions drive certified fisheries to make improvements. In the last three years, a third of the conditions that were closed were related to endangered, threatened and protected species and reducing bycatch. Nearly a fifth were linked to improvements benefitting ecosystems and habitats.
Furthermore, a statistical analysis of fisheries’ scores show that they significantly improve their performance as they stay in the program.
Tracking these improvements is a critical piece of ensuring that the MSC certification is still being effective in its mission to support sustainable fisheries around the world.
PS, if you are a marine and fisheries scientist or postgrad student, an MSC certified fishery or represent a fishery that is working towards MSC standards, or an NGO that is researching marine conservation efforts, the MSC Ocean Stewardship Fund is accepting applications for its 2022 recipients. Learn more.
