For decades bluefin tuna fisheries have drawn widespread global criticism for corruption, mismanagement, lack of transparency, bad science, and use of destructive gear. And yet, in early June, the MSC might certify as sustainable what appears to be, at first glance, a negligible sliver of the bluefin tuna fishery in the eastern Atlantic: two applications by French and Japanese longliners, which use gear long-known for generating some of the world’s worst by-catch, from sharks to turtles to marine mammals.
Most recently, MSC’s cofounder formally objected to the bluefin certification proposal. WWF warned that MSC certification of Atlantic bluefin tuna would provide dangerous incentives to the market and mislead buyers.
