Source: FIS.com
A UK parliamentary committee has called on the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to address concerns about the organisation’s standard for sustainable fishing in the world’s oceans.
The House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) issued recommendations following its Sustainable Seas inquiry, whose findings were published last November.
The inquiry focused on how marine life can be protected from climate change, over fishing and pollution, and how the UK government can “create a sustainable blue economy”.
Among other recommendations, the committee urged the government to take urgent action to help create a legally binding ‘Paris Agreement for the Sea’, in order to protect the world’s oceans. It also suggested bringing forward the 2042 target date for achieving avoidable plastic waste.
The committee also noted the criticism recently directed toward the MSC, as regads how and which fisheries are certified as sustainable.
The EAC inquiry was supported by a campaign led by On the Hook and backed by scientists, retailers and non-governmental organisations, including Professor Callum Roberts from the Environment Department at the University of York, World Wise Foods (WWF), the Blue Marine Foundation, and chef and TV personality Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
