Fish and fish products play a peculiar role in the food supply chain. Fisheries have great importance for emerging countries’ economy and at the same time they can have a hard environmental impact. Fish stock overexploitation has become a major issue, and consumers are increasingly interested in well managed and sustainable fisheries.

Purpose

Fish and fish products are a major segment in the food product market, especially important for the emerging countries at global level as well as for the local economy. Because fish is the world's most important renewable food source, fishing is also a high environmental impact activity, and several fish stocks are seriously over exploited. This is resulting in major damages both from an economical and environmental point of view (and as a consequence, from a social point of view as well).

Consumers are showing increased concern about the origin and environmental impact of the food they put on their plate, and its nutritional value. Fishing sustainability is an important part of this increased consumer focus. A sustainable fishery management is needed to protect and improve the availability of natural resources, and to gain a competitive advantage.

Benefits

To prove that the fish is coming from a well managed and sustainable fishery it has to be labelled according globally recognised standards. These standards needs to be maintained throughout the food chain, all the way to the consumer. Such a label gives the product added value and demonstrates the fisheries' commitment to sustainability. For the consumers, such a label will provide assurance that the product comes from sustainable resources.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent, global, non-profit organisation with offices in the UK, USA, Australia, Japan and the Netherlands. This organisation manages a specific certification scheme, the MSC Fishery Sustainability Certification (applicable to fisheries), and the related MSC Chain of Custody Certification (applicable to the fish and fish products throughout the supply chain).

As of September 2007 there are 857 MSC-labelled seafood products sold in 34 countries worldwide. Over 7% of the world's edible wild-capture fisheries are now engaged in the program, either as certified fisheries or in full assessment according to the MSC standard for a sustainable fishery.