WWF Germany, October 10 2022
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WWF Germany calls out MSC for certifying Baltic Herring, an overfished stock, which will be used in certified animal feed. The organisation raises concern about the use of conditions to ensure that participating fisheries in Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Sweden and Finland maintain their certification. They highlight that the MSC Standard requires fisheries to not exceed the maximum sustainable yield, and MSC should therefore suspend these fisheries. They further urge the EU to set science-based quotas for 2023 at their upcoming meetings.
Our thoughts: One of the requirements of MSC certification, is that the fished stock is healthy, and harvested at sustainable rates. Throughout the years working on MSC issues, however, we have seen many similar instances demonstrating the weak enforcement of its own requirements. We support the call for the suspension of these fisheries until the stock has been rebuilt and appropriate management measures are in place.
