Rupert Howes is chief executive for the Marine Stewardship Council, an international nonprofit organization established to address the problem of unsustainable fishing and safeguard seafood supplies for the future. MSC released its annual report today, Wednesday, 12 October - read SeafoodSource's coverage here.
SeafoodSource spoke with Howes earlier this month at the MSC’s global headquarters in London.
SeafoodSource: MSC-certified fisheries are on the rise, according to your newly released annual report. Why and where this is occurring and what seafood is now becoming MSC-certified?
Howes: Demand for certified and fully traceable seafood is increasing. The market cares, consumers care and the industry cares. MSC provides a credible market-based mechanism that provides all stakeholders throughout the supply chain with the assurance they need that their purchasing decisions aren’t contributing to overfishing. As market demand increases more fisheries are attracted into assessment to demonstrate their good governance of the oceans. With the growing political attention to the oceans and increased consumer awareness around the world we do not anticipate this trend to diminish.
Today more than 300 fisheries are MSC-certified. Thirty-eight achieved certification in 2015-16. In the past year these fisheries caught more than 9.3 million metric tonnes of seafood, representing almost 10 percent of the total global wild caught seafood by volume. The proportion of MSC-certified catch varies significantly between regions: 83 percent (2.6 million tonnes) of seafood caught in the Northeast Pacific and 40 percent (3 million tonnes) of wild catch in the Northeast Atlantic is now MSC-certified. Elsewhere, we’re working within developing countries to support improvements that could lead to more fisheries becoming MSC-certified.
While there are more than 100 MSC-certified species, we also see some variation in the species certified. The top five certified species groups are scallops (64 percent); cods, hakes and haddocks (55 percent); lobsters (46 percent); krill and crustaceans (43 percent); and salmons, trouts and smelts (38 percent). While just 16 percent of the total global tuna catch is MSC-certified, this is an area where we’re seeing significant potential for growth and positive impact. This growth is being driven by a combination of factors including government commitments to sustainable fisheries management; improvements in fisheries management driven by responsible fishers; retailer commitments and sourcing policies; and increasing consumer demand for sustainable products. The MSC provides a mechanism for verifying and committing to sustainable fishing, but change itself comes from a diverse community of people working together.
SeafoodSource: What is the desired impact on oceans and fisheries as more fisheries become certified?
Howes: The MSC program provides an incentive and benchmark for fisheries to improve their operations to a sustainable level. Fisheries raise their level of sustainability to realize the benefits that market preference and consumer demand for MSC-labeled seafood can bring. This is a dynamic and continuous process, driven by market demand.
More certified fisheries mean more sustainable, well-managed fisheries and a more resilient, thriving marine environment. It also helps to secure jobs and livelihoods for future generations. Where needed, MSC certified fisheries also continue to deliver positive change. Ninety-four percent certified fisheries are required to make at least one further improvement to maintain their certification. These improvements are delivering real change on the water, including increased yields, sustainable harvests and reduced bycatch. These, in turn, contribute to global efforts in improving long-term food security, maintaining and strengthening livelihoods and ensuring healthy oceans now and for generations to come.
Examples of improvements delivered by MSC-certified fisheries include in the Indian Ocean, the agreement to implement harvest control rules for skipjack tuna fisheries; in the English Channel, a new process for collecting and pooling data within the Normandy and Jersey lobster fishery; and, in the Southern Ocean, innovative fishing practices, including the use of weighed lines and streamers, to dramatically reduced seabird bycatch. These improvements are showcased in our Global Impacts Report.
SeafoodSource: With more fisheries gaining certification, your annual report shows that volume is also on the rise. How do these higher numbers impact the visibility and credibility of MSC? Do you feel more parties within the entire supply chain are becoming more aware of and committed to ocean-to-plate sustainability and traceability?
Howes: Since last year, the volume of MSC certified catch has increased by 6 percent. Over the same period, MSC certified supply chains saw a jump of 16 percent (to 3,334 from 2,879 companies). Accelerated growth in the MSC-certified supply chain demonstrates a growing demand for traceable, sustainable seafood. Our 2016 consumer perceptions survey showed that globally 72 percent of seafood consumers agree that to save the oceans, shoppers should only consume seafood from sustainable sources. And 65 percent say they want to know their fish can be traced back to a known and trusted source.
Retailers and brands use the MSC label to demonstrate that their products have been sustainably and responsibility sourced and are correctly labeled. These commitments mean that more than 20,000 products in 100 countries now carry the blue MSC label. We’re really encouraged by these commitments and want to continue to work with our partners to educate consumers on the importance of sustainable fishing.
SeafoodSource: What role are distributors, retailers and restaurateurs playing (or what role should they be playing) in supporting MSC and its efforts?
Howes: The last year saw significant commitments from companies such as Lidl, Migros, Carrefour, Coles, Aeon and McDonalds, among others. These partners not only commit to sell MSC-certified seafood – their support also raises awareness and education about ocean conservation and, in some cases, supports fisheries in improving their practices.
A really great example of this is Migros’ partnership with the Cantabrian anchovy fishermen. Migros (a supermarket retailer based in Switzerland) has committed to source 100 percent sustainable seafood by 2020, but hadn’t been able to source certified anchovies. As a result, Migros’ suppliers teamed up with the MSC to support the Basque and Laredo anchovy fleet to achieve MSC certification. This effort has helped to secure livelihoods and fish stocks and it’s also meant that Migros is a step closer to achieving its commitment—it’s a win-win. Other examples include Carrefour’s work with FROM Nord and Iglo’s involvement with Russian pollock fisheries.
We’re also seeing the impact of clear sourcing commitments on fisheries management decisions. The landmark decision by the IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) to introduce harvest control rules for skipjack tuna, for example, was achieved thanks to collaboration among many different actors, including retailers, brands, fishers, industry groups and NGOs. The International Pole & Line Foundation in particular played a leading role in building support for the Maldivian government’s proposal for harvest control rules.
It’s this type of leadership that drives real, lasting positive change in the way our oceans are fished.
SeafoodSource: Looking more generally, what is MSC’s biggest challenge currently and what is your strategy for meeting that challenge?
Howes: Small-scale and developing-world fisheries are vital to food security, livelihoods and economic development, and so it’s critical they are managed sustainably. Yet many currently lack the resources, data and governance systems they need to achieve MSC certification. One of our biggest challenges is to help these fisheries overcome any barriers they may face in achieving certification.
We’re committed to addressing this challenge and increasing accessibility of our program – currently just 9 percent of fisheries in the MSC program are from developing countries and we’re eager to seeing the number grow. We’ve developed a series of tools, funding and training initiatives aimed at helping small scale and developing world fisheries take their first step on the road to environmental improvement. We are exploring the development of a new In Transition to MSC certification (ITM) program to build on our existing tools. We’re also working with a number of partners who deliver Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs) to ensure they have the best chance of resulting in certifiable, sustainable fisheries. Over the coming years I hope we’ll start to see these initiatives increasing the number of developing world fisheries benefiting from the growing market for sustainable seafood.
SeafoodSource: What lessons have been learned about MSC certification since that first fishery was certified in 2001?
Howes: Much has changed in the past 15 years: Understanding of sustainable fishing; the technology used to catch and trace seafood through the supply chain; the expectations of our partners; and the demands of seafood consumers, to name a few. Fisheries science, in particular, is complex and evolving, and where the bar for sustainability is set is often hotly debated. The MSC is a learning organization: We’ve invested heavily in strengthening the rigor of our program, through extensive stakeholder engagement, and we welcome continued dialogue and scrutiny. Over the coming years MSC will continue to work hard to add value to fisheries and seafood businesses who share our vision, and to build awareness and support with end consumers.
SeafoodSource: Given the opportunity to address a room filled with other seafood industry leaders, what nugget of wisdom would you like to leave with them as your closing remark?
Howes: Driving positive impact and creating lasting change is not easy and it can’t be achieved alone. It is only through partnership and collaboration among many different interest groups that we can secure a long-term, healthy future for our oceans and the people who depend upon it. It’s easy to focus on the numbers and the big milestones in our annual report. But none of this is possible without the leadership and dedication of our many partners – from fishers through to global brands, it takes stamina, passion and commitment to work together for a greater good.
