MSC CRITICISES ‘ON THE HOOK’ REVIEW

MSC criticises ‘On the Hook’ review. The Marine Stewardship Council says it is disappointed with the ‘On the Hook’ report, which “misrepresents the MSC programme and gives so little credit to the significant improvements in our new requirements for certification – despite some of them being key measures urged by ‘On the Hook’”.

The MSC states:

“This ‘On the Hook’ consultation received less than 100 responses. By contrast, MSC’s own recently concluded four-year review involved hundreds of stakeholders globally, and over 1,000 submissions.

“Far from being a low bar in sustainability claimed by ‘On the Hook’, many fisheries spend years making the improvements necessary for certification to the MSC programme.  Our new requirements will result in even greater progress for fish stocks and ocean biodiversity as well as the people and economies that rely on them.

“Key improvements include greater protection for marine wildlife as well as new requirements on lost fishing gear – a major source of plastic ocean pollution. We have also recently set an ambitious US$100 million fundraising goal to support more fisheries, particularly small-scale and emerging economy fisheries.

“We strongly disagree with the ‘On The Hook’ claim that our credibility has been eroded. An independent survey of a range of over a thousand stakeholders – businesses, fisheries, scientists and environmental NGOs – in 2021 found this not to be the case, with the vast majority saying they trusted us to deliver our mission to end overfishing.”

The ‘On the Hook’ report can be read here

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