Sustainable Fishing

What is sustainable fishing?

Sustainable fishing means leaving enough fish in the seas, protecting their habitats and safeguarding the future of the people who depend on fishing for their livelihood.
Whether a fishery is sustainable or cannot be assessed regardless of size, geography or fishing method. Our environmental standard for sustainable fishing is scientifically based. Professional fishing is assessed in three areas:

1. Sustainable fish stocks
Is there enough fish left in the seas? Professional fishing must ensure that it can last for all time and that the fish stock can remain productive and viable.

2. Minimize environmental impact
What will be the effects on the marine environment? Professional fishing needs to be done with care so that other species can continue to live and habitats continue to feel good.

3. Good fisheries management
Is fishing well done? certified fishery need to comply with laws and regulations and need to be prepared for new environmental conditions.

Our seas are in danger

Our oceans are vital to life on Earth and cover more than 70% of the planet's surface. The oceans regulate our climate and give us the oxygen we need to live.

31.4% over fished

The ocean is home to millions of fish and other animals in the ocean. All this life is important, as millions of us humans have sea food as our primary source of protein.

Seafood is our last major food resource that is wild. Our own health depends on the health of the seas. This also applies to our social and economic well-being.

49% reduction of marine stocks

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 31.4% of global fishing takes place in an unsustainable way. This is stated in the  SOFIA report.

The size of marine stocks has decreased by almost half, 49%, between 1970 and 2012 according to WWF's Living Blue Planet Report 2015. Important causes are overfishing and illegal fishing.

Overfishing and illegal fishing

A stock becomes overfished when too many fish are picked up and there are too few individuals left to reproduce and thus to maintain the number of fish.

In the early 1990s, overfishing was a major challenge and in 1992 a devastating collapse of cod stocks off the coast of Canada. Over 35,000 people in the fishing industry lost their jobs.

The event became the starting point for creating MSC and our standard for sustainable fishing - today the most recognized global standard for sustainable and traceable fishing.

Illegal fishing

Another cause of overfishing is illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU). It rarely takes into account fishing quotas and the marine environment. IUU fishing is estimated to be worth SEK 80 - 200 billion annually and in addition to depleting fish stocks, it also threatens the livelihood of the fishermen who work legally.

The MSC program helps to reduce IUU fishing by systematically excluding the IUU fish.

An example of this is when the population of Australian tooth netting (also known as Chilean sea bass) in the South Arctic Ocean decreased sharply due to IUU fishing. Thanks to efforts from six major professional fisheries, IUU fishing virtually ceased entirely in the area and the stock of tooth picking recovered. Today, the stocks are viable and the commercial fisheries involved are also MSC certified.