The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has opened two new offices – one in Tokyo, Japan, and the other in The Hague, Netherlands.
Kozo Ishii has been appointed Programme Director for the Japanese office in a move to increase awareness of the role of fishery certification and eco-labelling in securing sustainable fisheries in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
The MSC says that the aim of opening an office in Japan is to boost uptake of the MSC programme by both domestic and regional fisheries, Japanese seafood retailers and the general public.
"Interest in the MSC is growing and we believe that this is the right time to strengthen our presence in this market. Japan has one of the highest per-capita fish consumption rates in the world and is the hub of the Asia-Pacific seafood trade. Establishing the MSC here is an essential step to bring the Asia-Pacific region further into seafood certification and eco-labelling, which will greatly contribute to creating sustainable fisheries and protecting the marine ecosystem," said Kozo Ishii.
In The Netherlands, Camiel Derichs, North European Fisheries Manager, will lead the MSC's commercial and fisheries outreach activities to further boost interest in environmental certification and eco-labelling according to MSC standards.
“Many players in the Dutch seafood sector are interested in becoming MSC-certified. All these parties can now liaise with someone on the ground to help them make things happen. The Netherlands counts among the biggest seafood exporters in the EU. It is essential for the MSC to ensure strong participation in our programme by Dutch fisheries, seafood processors and retailers alike to increase the visibility of our eco-label in key markets,“ says Camiel Derichs.
In other MSC news, the Ben Tre clam fishery of Vietnam is the first fishery in South East Asia to seek assessment against the MSC standard.
The fishery – which sells its hand-picked clams to domestic markets and exports to Europe, Japan, China and Taiwan – will be assessed to establish whether it meets the MSC's criteria. If successful, the fishery can apply to display the blue MSC eco-label.
