Concerns over fishing impacts on marine populations and ecosystems have intensified the need to improve ocean management. One increasingly popular market-based instrument for ecological stewardship is the use of certification and eco-labeling programs to highlight sustainable fisheries with low environmental impacts. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the most prominent of these programs. Despite widespread discussions about the rigor of the MSC standards, no comprehensive analysis of the performance of MSC-certified fish stocks has yet been conducted. We compared status and abundance trends of 45 certified stocks with those of 179 uncertified stocks, finding that 74% of certified fisheries were above biomass levels that would produce maximum sustainable yield, compared with only 44% of uncertified fisheries. On average, the biomass of certified stocks increased by 46% over the past 10 years, whereas uncertified fisheries increased by just 9%. As part of the MSC process, fisheries initially go through a confidential pre-assessment process. When certified fisheries are compared with those that decline to pursue full certification after pre-assessment, certified stocks had much lower mean exploitation rates (67% of the rate producing maximum sustainable yield vs. 92% for those declining to pursue certification), allowing for more sustainable harvesting and in many cases biomass rebuilding. From a consumer’s point of view this means that MSC-certified seafood is 3–5 times less likely to be subject to harmful fishing than uncertified seafood. Thus, MSC-certification accurately identifies healthy fish stocks and conveys reliable information on stock status to seafood consumers.

The present paper examines the impact of hydraulic engineering on fish production potential in Bangladesh by comparing the population dynamics of six species sampled from floodplains inside and outside the Pabna Irrigation and Rural Development Project (PIRDP) during 1995 and 1996. All the sampled populations were dominated by a single cohort for most of the year. Recruitment occurred both inside and outside the flood control scheme, coinciding with floodplain inundation. The growth of all the six species was rapid and strongly seasonal, and all species reached sexual maturity by the end of their first year. With only one exception, growth rates, condition and fecundity were either significantly higher inside the scheme, or not significantly different between the two sampling locations. Differences in growth performance were explained by fish density. No significant differences between sampling locations were detected in the length at maturity (Lm~o), spawning period or instantaneous total mortality rate (Z). Estimates of 2 were very high for all six species ranging from Z = 3.2 year-' to Z = 4.7 year-', equivalent to only 4% and 1% survival yea.-', respectively. It was concluded that the production potential of individual fish is at least as high inside as outside the PIRDP and that the 38-51% lower yields per unit area recorded inside the scheme reflect its partial inaccessibility to migrant species. K E Y w o R D s : Bangladesh, floodplain, hydraulic engineering, river fisheries. cover * 30% of the total land area of the country, and with increasing demand for greater Medicine, 8 Princes Gardens, London SW7 INA, UK (e-rnail: a.halls@ic.ac.uk). 0 1999 Blackwell Science Ltd 261 262 A.S. HALLS ETAL.agricultural output and economic stability, more schemes are planned for the fkture (Rahman, Huq, Haider & Jansen 1994).Against this backdrop, fish provide more than 80% of the total animal protein consumed in the country and the second most important export commodity after jute. Fishing also provides livelihoods and supplementary incomes for millions of people in Bangladesh (Rahman et al. 1994). Manipulating water levels within FCDI schemes to optimize agricultural output has the potential to significantly modify the extent, duration and timing of floodplain inundation, the principal driving force responsible for the productivity of floodplain fisheries (Junk, Bayley & Sparks 1989).The impact of FCDI schemes on fish productivity (measured as catch per unit area, CPUA) in Bangladesh has been previously examined as part of the World Bank/ODA-funded Flood Action Plan Project 17 (Flood Action Plan 17 1995), based largely upon the comparisons of catch rates inside and outside FCDI schemes throughout the country, but little attempt was made to gain an understanding of the biological processes underlying these figures. Firm conclusions on the impacts of FCDI schemes were prevented by non-significant or contradictory results, and the effects of breached embankments and partially functioning schemes (Halls 1998).The present pa...

A mark-recapture programme at the Pabna Irrigation and Rural Development Project (PIRDP) site in NW Bangladesh showed that Catla catla, Channa striata and Wallago attu migrated through the sluice gates, both with and against prevailing currents in different season, while the smaller Anabas testudineus, Glossogobius giuris and Puntius sophore did not. Species assemblages were significantly different inside and outside the flood control, drainage and irrigation (FCDI) schemes, with up to 25 species absent or less abundant inside compared to outside. The majority of these species were large predators or conspicuous members of the highly prized migratory ' whitefish ' category, including silurid catfish, Indian major carps, mullets and clupeids. In their absence, species inside FCDI schemes were dominated by much smaller resident ' blackfish ' species. Assemblages inside FCDI schemes thus had both a reduced species richness, and a unit value reduced by up to 25%. It was concluded that FCDI schemes such as the PIRDP negatively affect fish species assemblages and stock values, by reducing the accessibility of impounded floodplains to migrant fish. Though some fish are capable of penetrating existing sluice gates, management measures are required to encourage the passage of more species. 1998 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

Agnew, D. J., Gutiérrez, N. L., Stern-Pirlot, A., and Hoggarth, D. D. 2014. The MSC experience: developing an operational certification standard and a market incentive to improve fishery sustainability. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71: 216–225. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard for sustainable fisheries is represented by three high-level principles and a set of 31 indicators and scoring guidelines, known as the “default assessment tree”. Over the 14 years, since it was developed in 1999, the MSC has faced the challenge of maintaining its standard at the level of global best practice, keeping up with developments in the science and management of fisheries, and making sure that certified fisheries maintain their performance at that standard, or raise it where they fall below it. The MSC has had to regularly and widely engage with multiple stakeholders to ensure that its policy development is consistent with stakeholder expectations. Although many fisheries have made significant improvements to their performance, sometimes performance has declined, leading to further requirements for improvement. The MSC needed to design a program that balances credibility, accessibility, and improvement to move the world's fisheries towards sustainability.

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