The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) officially inaugurated its first office in Africa in Cape Town, South Africa on 22 October at a reception at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town.
The reception was attended by over 80 guests from seven Southern African countries drawn from the seafood industry, governments, trade unions non-governmental organisations, many of whom also attended a conference on “The opportunities and challenges of fisheries certification in Southern and Eastern Africa” held at Noordhoek .
Speaking at the launch Chris Nissen, Chairman of Sea Harvest Corporation and a former member of the MSC Board of Trustees, commented: “I would like to say to the MSC that you have a friend in the deep-sea fishing industry in South Africa. The industry will be a benchmark for Africa.”
Initially Martin Purves, MSC Southern Africa Programme Manager, will work with partners in Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania to encourage more fisheries to seek certification under the MSC programme.
The MSC South Africa office is funded by the Pretoria based ComMarkTrust.
