The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), as part of its ‘Quality and Consistency’ project is inviting public comment on the definition of sustainable fishing.
The organisation is publishing 23 ‘draft intent statements’, described as “short, technical paragraphs that seek to help everyone involved in MSC fishery assessments to have clear expectations and a common understanding of what sustainable fishing looks like in practice”.
The draft intent statements were developed in 2006 and are available at www.msc.org. The deadline for comments on the draft statements is 23 February and the final statements will be issued mid-March.
Once finalised, the intent statements are expected to:
· Improve the clarity of the MSC’s environmental standard
· Help fisheries understand what certification bodies will be looking for during the assessment process
· Facilitate the participation of stakeholders during the assessment process
· Improve clarity for certification bodies during the preparation phase of assessment
· Help expert assessment teams score fisheries consistently, whatever the fishery’s size, type or location
“These statements will improve the transparency and consistency of fishery assessments against the MSC’s environmental standard,” says Rich Lincoln, the MSC’s International Policy Director. “These statements will help refine our understanding of what sustainable fishing means in practice, and so improve the value of the MSC programme as one of several ways to encourage sustainable practices in the fishing industry.”
