We seek to shift decision-making towards a sustainable fisheries future – where investments in fish stock regeneration are made based on long-term profitability, harvesting follows the principles of Ecosystem-Based Management, and the right of access to our oceans’ resources is coupled with responsibility.
Promoting sustainable fisheries
People are taking far more fish out of the ocean than can be replaced by those remaining.
Contributing factors to the current level of overfishing include:
Contributing factors to the current level of overfishing include:
- Technological advances that have made large-scale fishing easier
- Subsidies that keep too many boats on the water
Poor fisheries management and conservation
To achieve this, the Smart Fishing Initiative combines field, policy and market work to:
- Communicate the need for fisheries reform, including a new intergovernmental mechanism to address overfishing.
- Promote rights-based access systems and the supporting policy framework needed to make sustainable fishing a viable long-term economic activity within coastal communities.
There are many versions of rights-based management and if implemented well, they have demonstrated the ability to generate profound changes in fisheries.
- Increase consumer, retailer, and processor/brand demand for sustainably caught seafood.
Such positive pressure throughout the supply chain will help power a self-interested call within the fishing industry for regulatory reform that supports meeting this demand.
- Mobilize funding to finance the transition to sustainable fisheries.
This includes support for reducing fleet capacity as well as creating opportunities that help fishers exit the sector.
10 years of success
The easiest way to identify the best environmental choice in seafood is through the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
Products with this label have been independently assessed as meeting the rigourous MSC standard – the only internationally recognized set of environmental principles to assess whether a fishery is well-managed and sustainable.
The MSC celebrated its 10th year as an independent organization in 2009 – and is evidently succeeding with over 2,000 products from 42 certified fisheries carrying the MSC logo and over 100 more currently pursuing certification.
Products with this label have been independently assessed as meeting the rigourous MSC standard – the only internationally recognized set of environmental principles to assess whether a fishery is well-managed and sustainable.
The MSC celebrated its 10th year as an independent organization in 2009 – and is evidently succeeding with over 2,000 products from 42 certified fisheries carrying the MSC logo and over 100 more currently pursuing certification.