The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) will soon be launching a revised Standard which will have implications for certified tuna fisheries.
Later this month, the MSC will launch a new Fisheries Standard for certified tuna fisheries. This also sets new requirements for harvest strategies for fisheries managed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), including purse seine and long line tuna fisheries.
Certified tuna sales
New data shared by the MSC shows certified tuna catch and products now exceeds 2 million tonnes of tuna a year. This is almost half (47%) of the global wild commercial tuna harvest. As a result the number of brands selling certified sustainable tuna with the MSC label exceeds 430, up from 126 in 2015.
The data, included in an update to the MSC’s Sustainable Tuna Handbook, shows growing momentum behind sustainable tuna certification and sales.
Retailer, brand and fisheries commitments, coupled with growing consumer demand and advances in the technologies which allow sustainable fishing, are delivering tangible benefits. This is particularly evident in growth in MSC certified tuna sales via big name retailers such as Lidl Germany, Walmart in the US, The Bolton Group in Europe, Princes in the Netherlands, Tesco in the UK, and American Tuna in the US.
Long term sustainability
In the three years to March 2022, MSC certified tuna fisheries delivered on 38 conditions of certification helping to further safeguard the oceans and fish stocks.
Challenges remain however in ensuring the long-term sustainability of tuna fisheries. A new briefing, MSC Fisheries Standard version 3.0: Considerations for Tuna Fisheries, outlines how improvements made to the requirements of MSC certification will impact tuna fisheries.
Improvements of particular relevance to tuna fisheries include stronger requirements on fish aggregating devices (FADs), shark finning, endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species, and effective monitoring, control and surveillance.
Defined milestones
At the World Tuna Trade Conference & Exhibition held in Bangkok, Thailand, in October, the MSC’s Chief Science & Standards Officer, Dr Rohan Currey, explained.
He said: “Certified tuna fisheries will now be required to deliver a set of defined milestones. These are aimed at securing agreement between multiple national governments to implement state of the art harvest strategies derived through open and fair negotiations.
“These requirements represent a significant increase in expectations of fisheries managed by RFMOs and will create a unified and powerful push towards ensuring vital protections are agreed that ensure sustainable management of tuna stocks in perpetuity.”
Early application
Already certified fisheries will be given the opportunity to apply the requirements for harvest strategies early. This is provided there is majority agreement between fisheries targeting the same stock.
Early application is also conditional on fisheries being assessed to version 3.0 of the Standard at their next reassessment, fast-tracking application of wider requirements including those for FADs, ETP species and shark finning.
In recognition of the increased expectations, these fisheries will be given five years in which to secure robust harvest strategies which provide the best protection possible for tuna stocks.