About The Marine Stewardship Council

The Marine Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organisation. They recognise and reward efforts to protect oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for the future.

Vision and mission

They want future generations to be able to enjoy seafood and oceans full of life, forever.

Their vision is of the world’s oceans teeming with life, and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations.

Their mission is to use their ecolabel and fishery certification program to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans by recognising and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood and working with their partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis.

What does the blue MSC label mean?

Wild, traceable, sustainable: the blue fish label is only applied to wild fish or seafood from fisheries that have been certified to the MSC Fisheries Standard, a science-based set of requirements for sustainable fishing.

A certified sustainable source

Each MSC certified fishery has been independently assessed on its specific impacts to wild fish populations and the ecosystems they're part of.

Handled with care

All along the supply chain, from ocean to plate, MSC certified fish and seafood is separated from non-certified. It is clearly labelled so it can be traced to a certified sustainable fishery.

Trustworthy

Regular DNA testing has shown that MSC labelled products are correctly labelled. So, you can trust that the fish is what its packaging or menu says it is.

Credible

For over 20 years they’ve worked with scientists, fisheries, seafood producers and brands to develop their standards and promote sustainable fishing. The MSC is the only wild-capture fisheries certification and ecolabelling program that meets best practice requirements set by both the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) and ISEAL, the global membership association for sustainability standards. In March 2017, the MSC became the first global seafood certification program to be recognised for rigour and credibility by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).