Identifying and mitigating potential risks for Marine Stewardship Council assessment and certification

Key attributes related to fishery improvement project (FIP) effectiveness in promoting improvements towards sustainability

“…Fisheries in RFMO member states may perform better against the MSC standard compared to others due to the established regional‐level framework in place (Bellchambers, Fisher, Harry, & Travaille, ). For example, in its pre‐assessment, the Japanese Wakayama albacore tuna ( Thunnus alalunga ) longline fishery scored well against a number of criteria as a result of management activities implemented through the WCPFC and the Inter‐American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), including data reporting systems, regular stock assessments and surveillance programs (Ocean Outcomes, ).…”

“…Fisheries in RFMO member states may perform better against the MSC standard compared to others due to the established regional-level framework in place (Bellchambers, Fisher, Harry, & Travaille, 2016). For example, in its pre-assessment, the Japanese The MSC also requires fishery scores to be "harmonised" with overlapping fisheries that are already certified in order to ensure similar fisheries receive similar scores (MSC, 2014).…”

The current situation and prospects of fisheries certification and ecolabelling

“…If a fishery achieves a score between 60 and 79 for any individual PI (conditional pass), it is required to develop an action plan to improve performance to achieve a score of 80 within the 5 years period of the certificate (MSC, 2014). Bellchambers et al (2016a) investigate patterns in the condition types received by MSC certified fisheries to identify risk areas based on target species, fishing methods and geographic regions. The authors find that fisheries targeting crab/lobster, large pelagic finfish and flatfish, and fisheries operating in the UK/Europe and the NE Pacific regions, have more conditions related to the target species' stock status (MSC Principle 1).…”

New tuna regimes

“…These conditions were agreed to by the PNA and an action plan was developed for monitoring through an annual surveillance audit process within their 5-year certification period (Banks et al 2011, Bellchambers et al 2016. The agreed action plan also includes explicit milestones for the WCPFC to initiate identification and development of appropriate reference points in 2012 (year 1) which should be adopted in 2013 (year 2).…”

“…The MSC standard combines three principles for sustainable fishing that include: (i) the status of the fishery or fish stock, (ii) the fishing method/gear that reduces impact on the ecosystem, and (iii) the fishery governance and management framework (Ponte 2012, Bellchambers et al 2016. However, underlying these principles is the increased transparency through improved monitoring and control of both fishing activities through the fisheries standard and the chain of custody standard (CoC) (Auld et al 2010).…”