A new paper by Schiller and Bailey, in Fish & Fisheries, explored the relationship between an increase in harvest strategy implementation in tuna fisheries and pressures to obtain eco-certifications. They conducted interviews with delegates and observers at RFMOs and found that many participants attributed progress on harvest strategy adoption partially as a result of pressure from fishing companies meeting eco-certification requirements stating, ‘These results suggest the tuna fishing industry and associated seafood supply chain actors are now playing an unprecedented role in shaping international governance of these species’.
Our thoughts: This finding underscores the critical need for the MSC certification requirements to maintain an high bar of improvement – if it is helping to drive change, the MSC Standard needs to drive it in the right way and get on top of the wave of change.
