MSC, 26 July 2021
The MSC certification for 22 Western Central Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries could be suspended in June 2023 if measures to support sustainability do not progress. The Western Central Pacific Fisheries Committee (WCPFC), composed of 26 member states, must agree to implement harvest strategies and harvest control rules for these fisheries to remain MSC certified. In this press release from the MSC, they ‘caution that failure of these globally important fisheries to retain their certification could undermine years of progress towards sustainable tuna fishing.’
This reinforces our concerns that the MSC is not driving change at the RFMO level and the program does not sufficiently incentivise implementing HCRs. It also shows the vulnerability of the program, and that there are fisheries who may choose to lose their certification over remaining certified.
