Marine Stewardship Council

(asked on 17th March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the views of stakeholders in respect of the Marine Stewardship Council’s certification of unsustainable fisheries.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 25th March 2022

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label is a voluntary initiative and operates independently of the Government. Defra has no plans to take forward an assessment of the accessibility of the MSC label to small-scale fisheries.

Further to the Government's response to the Environmental Audit Committee's 'Sustainable Seas' report of 2019, Defra continues to encourage non-governmental organisations and individuals to participate in the frequent stakeholder consultations that MSC holds. The MSC standard has evolved positively over time and constructive comments will help ensure this continues to happen.

The Government is fully committed to sustainable fishing. Fisheries Management Plans will be a key tool through which we will work with industry to improve the sustainability and management of our fisheries, making it easier for the fishing sector then to secure independent accreditation if they wish to do so. We are actively discussing this issue with stakeholders across the seafood sector as part of the public consultation on the draft Joint Fisheries Statement.

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