The first Japanese fishery to enter Marine Stewardship Council assessment has reached the end of the evaluation stage of the certification process with a positive recommendation from certifier TQCSI.
Following a thorough, independent evaluation against the MSC standard, the Kyoto Danish Seine Fishermen's Federation snow crab and flathead flounder fishery is now entering the final phase of stakeholder consultation. It is possible that the fishery could receive MSC certification within a month.
The fishery has been evaluated by an independent team including Japanese scientists from the National Institute for Fishery Science, the Amita Institute for Sustainable Economies and a former professor at Tokyo Fishery University. Following their assessment, the 170 page report into the fishery has been peer-reviewed by a panel of Japanese and international fisheries scientists.
Kozo Ishii, MSC's Programme Director in Japan, said: “This is an important moment for this fishery and could open the door for other Japanese fisheries keen to demonstrate their sustainability through the MSC's internationally recognised certification programme and ecolabel. If there are no objections in this last phase of stakeholder consultation, we could see the first Japanese fishery certified in just over three weeks' time.”
MSC eco-labelled products are already proving popular with Japanese consumers. Over 100 products are currently on sale at 20 different stores. Worldwide, over 1,600 products worth nearly $1billion (100 billion Japanese Yen) bear the MSC eco-label in 36 countries. Mr Ishii continues: “Other fisheries have found that the MSC eco-label has brought interest from export markets. The MSC's independent certification process and traceability certification mean that seafood buyers can be sure that they are making a positive contribution towards safeguarding seafood supplies for this and future generations.”
