Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

For those of you who don't know about the MSC, here's a little introduction video:

I personally think that the idea of MSC is very good. Recent studies have shown the dramatic impact overfishing has on our sea's. (If you are interested in further information, I can strongly recommend the documentary "The end of the line")

However, there have been a lot of troubles regarding MSC and their certification process. As with many sustainability metrics, some organisations get certified and don't deserve it. The reason is often very simple: money. That's what happend in the case of MSC too.

In the beginning MSC went nearly bankcrupt. But a cooperation with "Wal-Mart" boosted the awareness of the people and soon the supply of MSC certified seafood couldn't meet the demand. That's where the "mass certification" of fisheries began, which is not a bad thing itself. But the scientifical basis for the certification was often given by "MSC-made" studies. Independent researcher, who often had different opinions about certain data, were consequently ignored and own results have been promoted instead.

I don't want to say that it's all bad what MSC is doing, but for me it seems that their focus is a little bit too much on the profits, rather than on scientific sustainability. It sure is a very good step forward in reaching a sustainable world, but there's always room for improvement.


Edit:

Further readings:
http://fishyfellow.blogspot.jp/
http://www.undercurrentnews.com/2015/07/28/wwf-concerned-over-msc-credibility-after-spate-of-controversial-certifications/
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/11/171376509/is-sustainable-labeled-seafood-really-sustainable