What is the MSC Certificate?

The MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certificate is an international non-profit program that uses a market-based approach to encourage sustainable fishing practices. The MSC was founded in 1997 (originally by WWF and Unilever) to address the global crisis of overfishing and related problems. These include resource depletion, ecosystem damage and illegal fishing.

• The certificate is, thus, awarded to fisheries that meet three core principles developed in collaboration with scientists, the fishing industry, and conservation groups:
  Maintaining fish stocks at a sustainable level that ensures it can continue indefinitely and the fish population remains productive and healthy;
• To minimise environmental impact of fishing operations; and
• Fisheries must comply with relevant laws and have a management system that can respond to changing circumstances.

To use the label, every company in the supply chain must also have a Chain of Custody (CoC) certificate (similar to FSC Certificate) to ensure the seafood is traceable and hasn’t been mixed with non-certified products.

Also similar to the FSC Certification, Japan has its own domestic label called MEL (Marine Ecolabel Japan), designed to fit Japan’s unique “co-management” style of Japanese fishing cooperatives.