Marine Stewardship Council - Independent Opinion and Criticism

Independent Opinion and Criticism

Jared Diamond's 2005 book Collapse discussed MSC and the similar Forest Stewardship Council as good examples of collaboration among environmentalists and businesses for a sustainable economy.

Since 2009, the MSC has been criticized for certifying fisheries that have questionable sustainability. The most controversial certification has been that of the Ross Sea antarctic toothfish fishery. Some scientists and members of the seafood industry consider the fishery "exploratory", since so little is known about it. However toothfish has been fished commercially for over 30 years and has been closely managed by Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources since 1982. Scientists had accused the assessor, which recommended the fishery for certification, of ignoring unfavorable data. The independent adjudicator later sent back the recommendation for certification to the assessor for reconsideration.

The MSC received criticism from Greenpeace and the Pew Environment Group among others over its certification of Antarctic krill. Although the fishery may have been healthy, critics believed that "scientific data on the fishery’s impact s lacking, and that the council’s decision s thus based on guesswork". As a result, Whole Foods Market stated it would stop selling all krill oil supplements even with the ecolabel.

As part of the MSC certification the krill fishery committed to further scientific research and 100 per cent observer coverage, specifically addressing the concerns about risks posed to other species by krill fishing. Fishing pressure on krill is very low – less than 1% of estimated biomass - and the management rules established by CCAMLR ensure fishing activities minimise risks to the krill population or other species.

In early 2010, the MSC was criticised by environmental groups like the Sierra Club for certifying the British Columbia sockeye salmon fishery when stocks in the Fraser River (a part of the fishery) had been in decline since the early 1990s. The year before, the salmon run of the Fraser River (a part of the fishery) was only 1.4 million (M) of a predicted 11 M salmon and had prompted the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to launch a judicial enquiry. The 2010 run was 30 M and the 2011 run is estimated to be greater than 4 M. The Fraser Sockeye 2010 think tank at Simon Fraser University stated that the large 2010 run was due mainly to the cyclical peak of fish from the Adams River and that returns were high only for a subset of tributaries. However, it stated that "the large unresolved uncertainties highlight our collective uncertainty about the relative roles of climate change, aquaculture, and fisheries management in determining salmon returns".

An appropriate management response to the decreased stocks was taken and the fishery was closed to allow the stocks to recover. The fishery is now operating successfully and has an ongoing commitment to protecting weak populations and decreasing bycatch. Catch level is set in-season in accordance with each year's run size.

In February 2011, several European WWF chapters objected to certification of the Denmark North Sea plaice fishery.

The concerns raised were taken into account and the fishery concerned implemented a habitat strategy to ensure enhanced protection of vulnerable habitats through measures such as closed areas, gear modifications, technical developments and targeted research.

Several scientists like Sidney Holt and Daniel Pauly believe the assessments by commercial contractors paid by the fisheries create a conflict of interest because assessors have an financial incentive in recommending fisheries and getting more work and profits from the resulting annual audits. However, the practice of companies paying external auditors is not unusual.