The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Making of a Market for ‘Sustainable Fish’

Abstract

Market‐based instruments of fishery governance have been promoted in the past two decades on the basis of two widespread expectations: that complying with sustainability standards will lead to environmental benefits; and that certifications will not discriminate against specific social groups, countries or regions. This paper assesses whether these assumptions hold through the analysis of how the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label for capture fisheries has managed ‘supply’, ‘demand’ and ‘civic’ concerns in the market for sustainability certifications. The MSC has created and now dominates the market for ‘sustainable fish’, but success has been accompanied by serious challenges. The MSC has so far failed to convincingly show that its certification system has positive environmental impacts, and it has marginalized Southern fisheries, especially in low‐income countries. As an institutional solution to the global fishery crisis, the MSC seems to be better tuned to the creation of a market for ‘sustainable fish’ rather than ‘sustainable fisheries’.

Market Formalization, Governance, and the Integration of Community Fisheries in the Brazilian Amazon

“…While both certification systems are global in scope, the great majority of certified fisheries are concentrated in the developed world (less so for the FOS) (Pérez-Ramírez et al 2012;Ponte 2012). In response to criticisms of its developed-world bias, the MSC created the ''Developing World Program,'' which provides financial and technical assistance to artisanal fisheries in the developing world and is increasing its involvement in these fisheries (Dias and Viguié 2013).…”

“…This process ''enables many fisheries to better compete in a global marketplace that increasingly demands proof of sustainability'' (sentence paraphrased from MSC 2011a). The transformations generated by MSC certification are ''an unprecedented example of markets transforming fishing practices for a sustainable future'' (MSC 2011a; see also Ponte 2012).…”

Making a Market for Sustainability: The Commodification of Certified Palm Oil

“…The tension of trying to work through the market to change social relations and conditions of production in the sectors of food, forestry and fishing has been noted by many (see Cashore 2002;Raynolds 2000;Ponte 2012). Underlying this tension has been the relationship between "meaningful commodities and commodified meanings" in which attempts to articulate alternative forms of production and exchange are caught within the webs of the capitalist system such that they become hard to disentangle from corporate marketing tools and industry market niches (Guthman 2002).…”

New tuna regimes

“…To align diverging national interests of RFMO members, scholars and policy makers alike have searched for 'smart mixes' of political and economic institutions (Borzel et al 2002, Andonova 2010, Ponte 2012, Foley et al 2016). One such 'mix' is the adoption of third party certification, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), to set requirements supported by apparent market demand for sustainably managed fisheries -which includes the establishment of limit reference points and HCRs (Gray et al 2007, Lodge et al 2007, Allen 2010, Jones et al 2016).…”

“…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).…”