Marine Stewardship Council Certified Sustainable Seafood
A voluntary certification open to all fisheries who catch marine and freshwater organisms in the wild.
Purpose
To encourage a more sustainable seafood market
Applied Standards
The MSC assess based on three core principles: sustainable fish stocks, minimizing environmental impact, and effective fisheries management. "Fishing must be at a level that ensures it can continue indefinitely and the fish population can remain productive and healthy... Fishing activity must be managed carefully so that other species and habitats within the ecosystem remain healthy... MSC certified fisheries must comply with relevant laws and be able to adapt to changing environmental circumstances".
Qualifications/Disclosures
Fishers that are ineligible are those that "target amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals, use destructive fishing practices, have been successfully prosecuted for forced labor violations within the last two years, are conducted under a controversial unilateral exemption to an international agreement, are purely aquaculture (although some forms of enhanced fishery are eligible for assessment)".