The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has confirmed the list of 16 topics to be scrutinised in the next stage of its Fisheries Standard Review.
The list incorporates stakeholder feedback and considers the MSC’s requirements for ghost gear, low trophic species, shark finning and endangered, threatened and protected species. It also covers the accessibility of the MSC programme to small scale, squid, crab and octopus fisheries.
Rupert Howes, chief executive of the MSC, said that the review will be an in-depth analysis of all agreed topics. “Over the next year, the MSC will work alongside stakeholders to harness their expertise and experience to identify potential updates to the standard.”
“This is an opportunity for stakeholders to inform the future development of the standard and we encourage anyone with knowledge or an interest to get in touch,” he added.
The review, conducted every five years, aims to ensure that the MSC Fisheries Standard represents international best practice in sustainable fisheries science and management, reduces complexity and barriers for new fisheries and reviews issues that impede effective application of the standard.
The topics will be discussed during consultations with experts and stakeholders will have the opportunity to be involved in developing the standard. Any potential revisions will be widely consulted on in 2019/20 with release planned for 2021.
A full list of topics can be found at the MSC website.
