Independent sustainability certification schemes including the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
The Scottish Government believes that independent sustainability certification schemes such as the Marine Stewardship Council's can be a useful tool in helping consumers decide which sources to buy their food from. The MSC blue eco-label provides assurance that the product comes from a sustainable fishery. There are a number of certification schemes around the world but the Scottish Government is particularly involved with two: the Marine Stewardship Council and the Responsible Fishing Scheme.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent, global non profit organisation which acts as an independent accreditation body and operates the MSC certification scheme which is a voluntary fisheries eco-label. If a fishery is successfully certified to the MSC Standard then products from that fishery are eligible to bear the blue MSC eco-label. More information on MSC certification can be found on the MSC website.
Marine Scotland are making great progress on certifying fisheries in Scotland, with 5 fully certified fisheries (almost 4% of the global total) and a further 10 in the full assessment process. Details of fisheries engaged in the MSC programme are available online.
The Scottish Government funded over 2008-11 two key posts to support Scottish fisheries seeking independent sustainability certification: MSC's Scottish Outreach Officer and Seafood Scotland's Environmental and Technical Manager. We continue to work closely with both MSC and Seafood Scotland. This support highlights the Scottish Government's firm commitment to Scottish fisheries and to ensuring they are well managed, sustainable and profitable.
Marine Scotland support the vessel-based Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS) both in its own right and as a stepping stone to accreditation. The RFS is an independent, audited assessment of good practice by a vessel skipper and crew in their fishing operations. It covers four key areas: fishing practices; vessel criteria (such as hygiene, fish storage facilities, safety etc); crew competence and environmental considerations. You can read more about the Responsible Fishing Scheme on the Seafish website.