Celebrating 25 years ofcertified sustainable seafood
The Marine Stewardship Council
Annual Report 2021-22

Contents

With global demand for fish andaquatic foods expected to double
by 2050, we must do much more tosafeguard the ocean’s health. Fishingsustainably is essential.
Business commitments are driving
change on an international scale. By
investing in sustainable fishing andbuying only sustainable seafood,businesses create a chain reaction
which will be key to helping safeguard
the ocean.
Peter Thomson, United Nations SecretaryGeneral’s Special Envoy for the Ocean

Cover image: Hot somen noodles with MSC certified sardines. © David Loftus
Contents image: South African hake fisher. © MSC

Contents
Messages from our Chief Executive and Chair			2

Overcoming overfishing 			4

25 years of MSC 			6

The new Fisheries Standard 			8

Increasing accessibility			

10

Ocean Stewardship Fund supporting sustainable fishing 		12Progress on the water 			

14

A journey of improvement			

16

Sustainable seafood sales			

18

Early visionaries 			

20

Whitefish			

22

Small pelagics			

24

Tuna 			26Octopus and squid			28

Crab and lobster 			30

Salmon			32

Prawn and shrimp 			

33

Bivalves			34

Seaweed			

35

Stakeholder survey 			36

Building awareness and understanding of the MSC			38

Our funding and finances			40

Governance			

42

1

2

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

A message from our CEO
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is aquarter of a century old. It really has been
an extraordinary journey: without doubt
what was once the bold and ambitious ideaof our founders, WWF and Unilever in 1997,
has become a proven concept. The MSC's evidence-based
third-party certification and labelling program has provided amechanism to enable well-managed and sustainable fisheries
to demonstrate their good governance of our ocean resources
to the market and consumers, and critically, to incentivise
improvements to the way our oceans are fished. Today morethan 500 fisheries around the world, landing 12 million tonnesof seafood, have achieved certification in a market for certified
and labelled seafood sales of US$12.28 billion.
None of this would have been possible without the long-term
support and engagement of our partners in the fishing industry,
seafood market and civil society who share our vision ofhealthy and productive oceans. The MSC provides the tool andframework, but it is their leadership that delivers the change.
We are a market-based program and report market-based
metrics such as the number of certified fisheries and size ofthe market, but it is important to remember these measures
are just proxies for engagement and impact. The MSC is, firstand foremost, concerned with driving real and lasting change
and in this report you will read about some of the documented
improvements – over 2,000 of them – that have been deliveredby certified fisheries on their journey to sustainability. Jeff Skoll,founder of eBay and an early supporter of the MSC, recognised
this and described the organisation as a disruptor, challenging
the status quo with determination to deliver impact at scale.
Despite the tremendous progress being made around the world,
our ocean is facing unprecedented pressure. Climate change isan existential threat which is already having profound impacts
on ocean health. Several major fisheries have lost their MSC
certification because of climate-related changes and a failureof nation states to follow scientific advice when setting quotas.
Growing nationalism also threatens our collective ability todeliver sustainable fishing. Consequently, it is vital that we all
redouble our efforts, in the diminishing time we have available,
to work together collectively to ensure our oceans are being
fished sustainably, globally.
It is for this reason that the MSC has set itself the ambitious
target to work with our partners to engage over a third of wild
capture landings in the program by 2030, in line with the United
Nations Agenda 2030 and as part of our contribution to thedelivery of the specific targets within Sustainable Development
Goal (SDG) 14, Life Below Water. We have launched a new
Fisheries Standard after the most comprehensive review
in our history to ensure our standard for environmentally
responsible and sustainable fishing reflects new and widelyadopted science and best practice fisheries management. We
will also launch a new strategic plan in early 2023 that will
include the MSC recommitting to innovating and engaging morestrategically with fisheries in the pre-certification space throughthe scaling of our Ocean Stewardship Fund, In-Transition to MSC(ITM) program and expansion of our Pathway Projects that you
will read about in this report.

Messages from our Chief Executive and Chair3

A message from our chair
Over the last 25 years, the MSC has become
a globally recognised organisation anda respected voice on ocean issues. With
this global recognition comes increased
responsibility. Given the scale of the challenge
facing our ocean, we can – we must – raise our voice evenmore powerfully to advocate for sustainable fishing globally.
One of the challenges we are grappling with is how we canengage and work with more fisheries – particularly thosethat may still be some way from achieving certification, tohelp them on their pathway to sustainability. It requires us
to work in different ways, including in some challenging
institutional environments and with fisheries that may face
more challenges to entering certification because of limited
data, less advanced management, funding and a greater needfor support and training.
There will always be a tension between those who want the
MSC to be accessible to more fisheries and those who want
the Standard to set a higher bar. This is a healthy dynamic,
and I believe we have managed to strike a good balance in our
new Fisheries Standard. We have updated our requirements
in key areas, to ensure that MSC certified fisheries continue
to be recognised as leaders in sustainability. We have alsosought to streamline aspects of the Standard while making
improvements to improve accessibility.
That we are able to maintain this balance owes much to ourmulti-stakeholder governance structure. We owe a debt of
thanks to our Stakeholder Advisory Council and our TechnicalAdvisory Board – busy people in important positions who, ona purely voluntary basis, put in tremendous efforts to ensure
the MSC represents a wide diversity of views while also being
underpinned with scientific rigour. I am also grateful to the
MSC leadership team for the energy, intellect and creativity
they continually show.
Of course, there is always room for improvement, which is
why we recently carried out a governance review. This should
enable the MSC Board to make more effective strategic
decisions as we seek to step up to our global responsibilities
and set our course for the future.

Werner Kiene, Chair, Marine Stewardship Council Boardof Trustees

At the MSC, we are humbled by what our partners have achieved
over the last 25 years – and determined to play our part intackling the challenges ahead.

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive, Marine Stewardship Council
Scallop fishing vessel at sea. © MSC / David Loftus

4Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Overcoming
overfishing
Resilience and growth insustainable seafood
The unprecedented disruption caused by
the Covid-19 pandemic as well as surging
demand as countries exited lockdowns
have put great pressure on the global
seafood industry. In February 2022,
the uncertain outlook was exacerbatedfurther when Russia invaded Ukraine –with some countries moving to impose or
threaten sanctions and higher tariffs on
Russian imports, including seafood.
Against this backdrop, MSC certified
fisheries have shown great resilience,with the certified seafood catch
increasing slightly in 2021-22 to 12
million tonnes or 15% of all wild marine
catch. This is testament to the ongoingcommitment of fisheries, retailers,brands, processors and NGOs to fishing
our oceans sustainably, and thedemand for credible third-party
verification to support this. Data fromour 2022 GlobeScan consumer survey
also shows that consumers acrossmultiple markets increasingly recognise
the connection between their shopping
habits and the state of the ocean: buying
sustainable seafood was the mostcommon action that consumers took toprotect the ocean.
Boats docked at a small fishing harbour. © iStock

The UN acknowledged in its Second
World Ocean assessment, published in
April 2021, that fisheries management
was improving in many regions andsuggested that 98% of currently
overfished stocks could recover by the
middle of the century if the appropriate
governance was in place. The UN Foodand Agriculture Organization's (FAO)
State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture2022 report confirmed this trend, with
82.5% of the volume of fish landed
globally coming from sustainably
fished stocks – though the proportionof overfished stocks continued to rise,to 35.4%. Equally, there was welcome
recognition from the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in
September 2021 that four commerciallyfished tuna species were on the path torecovery, thanks to countries enforcing
more sustainable practices – althoughsome individual stocks remained
severely depleted.
The importance of seafood in meetingthe needs of a growing global population
was underlined in September 2021
with the publication of the Blue Food
Assessment – a joint initiative between
the Stockholm Resilience Centre,
Stanford University and EAT. This
keynote report highlighted the role

Overcoming overfishing5

Read the Blue
Food Assessmentof seafood in alleviating hunger andreducing carbon emissions, if
supported by sustainable, well-managed
food systems.
In 2022, the MSC is celebrating its 25th
anniversary. From just three certified
fisheries at the beginning of themillennium – Western Australia rocklobster, Thames Blackwater herringand Alaska salmon – the program now
encompasses more than 500 fisheries
all over the world. New certifications thisyear included the first certified fishery in
the Philippines – a small-scale yellowfin
tuna handline fishery – and the Yalu
Estuary Manila clam fishery in the Yellow
Sea, China’s first certified clam fishery.
The MSC Fisheries Standard is theworld’s most widely used frameworkproviding third-party assurance forsustainable fishing. Updating it toensure partners remain at the forefrontof sustainability is a major endeavour.
The latest review of the Standard has
involved more stakeholders fromindustry, environmental NGOs, retailers,scientists and certification bodies thanever before. This participation is one of
the hallmarks of the MSC's program andone of the reasons behind its successover 25 years.

Read the State of theWorld Fisheries andAquaculture Report
Read the Second World
Ocean Assessment(WOAII)

US$88.9 billion
37.9
3.3
million billion

Annual net loss in ocean benefits due to overfishing
The United Nations Second World Ocean Assessment

people work inwild-capture
fisheries

people rely on seafood
for at least 20% of theiranimal protein, rising tomore than 50% in partsof Asia and Africa

The annual valueof international
trade in fisheries
and aquaculture
products is

US$151billionThe State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (UN FAO)

Small-scale
fisheries
support the
livelihoods of492
millionpeople6

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

25 years of MSC

�� years of MSC
1997

1998

2000

The MSC is registered as
an independent non-profit
organisation. The idea ofsetting up an independentcertification scheme forsustainable fisheriescame out of talks between
WWF and Unilever.

The original MSC Fisheries
Standard is published,following 18 months ofconsultation with morethan 300 fisheries
experts worldwide.

The first fisheries gain
certification – Western
Australia rock lobster,Thames Blackwater
herring and Alaska
salmon. The MSC Chain of
Custody is developed, andthe blue MSC label first
appears in the shops.

Western Australia rock lobster deck. © iStock

2005

2004

2003

2002

Alaska pollock, theworld’s largest whitefish
fishery, is certified.

The red rock lobster
fishery in Baja California,
Mexico is the firstdeveloping economy
fishery to be certified. It’ssoon followed by South
Africa’s hake fishery.

2006

UK supermarket
Sainsbury’s becomesthe first retailer to commit
to sourcing 100% MSC
certified sustainableseafood. It is also firstto sell certified products
through its fresh
fish counters.

The 100th MSC labelled
product is launched(Young’s Bluecrest‘Fish for Life’ Wild
Alaska Salmon).

2008

In Europe, Lidl's
commitment to an
MSC certified fishrange brings sustainableseafood to millions
of consumers,
driving greater
sustainable sourcing
in the European retailsector. In Asia, Japan’slargest retailer AEON
launches over 30 MSC
labelled products. In the
US, Walmart announces
a 100% commitment
to MSC for fresh andfrozen products.

The MSC completes its
most comprehensive
review since inception,
focusing on quality andconsistency ofassessments andstreamlining theapplication of MSC
requirements forsustainable fishing.

2012

2010

2009

The London Olympics
is the first global sporting
event to serve sustainableseafood, boosting the
MSC’s profile in its founding
country. The commitments
continue in Rio in 2016 andTokyo in 2021.

McDonald’s announces
100% of its Filet-o-Fishsandwiches will be MSC
certified in Europe. Withother regions following
over the next decade, theMSC blue label will appear
on hundreds of millionsof McDonald’s packages.

Carrefour Group, theworld’s second largest
retailer, launches the
2,000th MSC labelled
product. Vietnamese Ben
Tre clam becomes thefirst MSC certified fisheryin Southeast Asia.

2015

Nomad, owner of
Iglo, Birdseye and Findus,
becomes the leading
global seafood brand for
MSC labelled products.

2017With the Aquaculture
Stewardship Council(ASC), MSC launchesa joint standard forsustainable seaweed
production.

2018

The spiny lobster fisheryin the Bahamas is the firstin the Caribbean toachieve certification,
following close to a
decade developing a
fishery improvement
project involving WWF,
Bahamas Marine
Exporters Association and
the Bahamas government.

2022

2020

2019

The MSC releases its latest
Fisheries Standard – theculmination of a four-year
consultation process involving
more than 1,000 fisheries
experts, assessors, NGOs
and industry representatives
from all over the world.

The number of productswith the blue MSC label
reaches 20,000 – a fourfold
increase in a decade.

The MSC’s Ocean Stewardship
Fund launches. The fundchannels 5% of royalties from
MSC labelled product sales into
projects to support researchand progress in fisheriescommitted to sustainability –including those in the
In-Transition to MSC program,also launched this year.

Find out more about
the history of the MSC

7

8Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

The new
Fisheries
Standard
By distilling science,
knowledge and best practice
into a tangible set of
requirements for fisheries, thisStandard provides one of themost powerful tools we haveto ensure a sustainable futurefor our fisheries and oceans.
Dr Rohan Currey, MSC Chief Science andStandards Officer

The publication of the first MSC Fisheries
Standard in 1998 was a watershed
moment. Drawing on the then recently
published UN FAO Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries, it was a pioneering
attempt to reach consensus on whatsustainable fishing looks like in practice.
The Standard was the result of discussions
held over 18 months with more than
300 stakeholders – including fisheries,
scientists, NGOs, industry representatives
and policymakers. It set out the basic
principles of maintaining fish stocks attheir most productive levels, minimising
environmental impacts and ensuring
robust management. It also codified a
detailed set of requirements and indicators
to measure performance against.
The MSC Standard remains the global
benchmark for sustainable fishing. But a
lot can change in a quarter of a century:
fishing practices evolve, scientificknowledge progresses, new concerns
arise. Society’s expectations andunderstanding of sustainability are very
different from 25 years ago.

Contents

We regularly review our Standard toensure it continues to reflect newscience, the evolution and uptake ofbest practice in fisheries management
and the wider challenges facing theocean. The latest review has been our
most comprehensive ever. Beginningin 2018, the consultation process has
included workshops, surveys and virtual
conferences involving more than 350
participants and 275 organisations from46 countries. We received over 600
submissions, conducted independent
research and analysis, sought advice
from experts and tested the revisions inmock assessments.
Following the MSC Board of Trustees’
approval, the new Fisheries Standard
will be published in October 2022.
We are grateful to everyone who has
contributed to the process, and are
confident that the fisheries that are
certified against our revised Standard
over the coming years will continue tobe at the forefront of sustainable fishingpractices globally.

The new Fisheries Standard

What’s new in our Fisheries Standard?
Endangered, threatened and protected species:
We’ve introduced a more precautionary process forclassifying species as endangered, threatened or protected(ETP), and added additional safeguards to minimise
fisheries' impacts on ETP species and allow populations
to recover. Assessors will need to evaluate explicitly andobjectively how fisheries impact the recovery of ETP species.
Shark finning:
The cruel and destructive practice of shark finning is alreadybanned in MSC certified fisheries. But to reflect best practice,
we’re now requiring all fisheries that retain sharks to havea “fins naturally attached” policy with no exemptions andevidence of compliance is required.
Ghost gear:
To reduce the risk of marine life being caught or entangled in
discarded “ghost gear”, fisheries will need to take measures
to prevent gear loss and minimise potential impacts (forexample, by including biodegradable elements). Ghost gear
impact criteria will now be included in every assessment.
Making assessments more efficient:
We’ve reviewed the Standard to simplify language, remove
ambiguity and reduce the number of indicators thatfisheries are assessed against – without diluting the level of
performance. We’ve also added extra guidance for assessing
complex fisheries, such as those with highly fluctuatingstocks or short-lived species like squid.
Evidence:
We’ve introduced new requirements to clarify the type andquality of information needed to certify a fishery, to ensurethat assessments are made on a solid evidence base.
Harvest strategies on shared stocks:
New provisions in the Standard address the complex issueof setting harvest strategies for highly migratory species
like tuna, where fisheries operate under a regional fisheries
management organisation.

Find out more about the MSC Fisheries Standard

Fisheries inspection officers from the Norwegian Coastguard(Kystvakten) carrying out a fisheries inspection on a shrimp
trawler in Svalbard, Norway. © MSC / J Morgan910Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Increasing
accessibility

Increasing accessibility

Our Pathway Projects
Find out more about
In-Transition to MSC

Find out more about Pathway
to Sustainability
Project UK
HellasFish

MedFishMany fisheries need to make significant
improvements before they are ready to
be assessed against the MSC Standard.
This can be particularly challenging forsmall-scale fisheries and fisheries indeveloping regions – whether because ofa lack of data to set science-based catch
limits, weak law enforcement or simply
limited resources. We have a number ofapproaches to support these fisheries on
their journey toward sustainability.
Our In-Transition to MSC program is open
to small-scale fisheries and fisheriesof all sizes in developing regions thatare working toward MSC assessment
within five years, although we plan toopen up the ITM program to all fisheries
in the coming years. Progress against
their action plans is verified eachyear by independent assessors. This
enables the fisheries to measure theirperformance against the MSC Standard
and demonstrate their commitment tosustainability to both funders and seafoodbuyers. As of March 2022, 16 fisheries
from India, Indonesia, Mexico and South
Africa are part of the program.
Our Pathway Projects bring together
multiple fisheries and partners in a
specific region. In India, seven fisheries
are hoping to enter assessment to the
MSC Standard over the next year via oneof these projects, with a further threefisheries aiming to enter the programby 2025. The Indian Pathway Projectis supported by partners including the
Sustainable Seafood Network of India,
WWF India, the Seafood Exporters

Association of India, and federal andstate governments.
We also provide training and other tools to
support fisheries to make improvements
and achieve the MSC Standard. This year
we launched a new fisheries management
plan template, while our benchmarking
and tracking tool enables fisheries tomonitor and report on their progress. Our
risk-based framework, updated this year,
helps fisheries which lack scientific data
to provide evidence that they are meetingsome of our performance indicators. And
as part of our capacity building work,
we’ve launched a new online platform– available in both English and Spanish– that blends pre-recorded learning
modules, videos, interactive quizzes andlive sessions with assessors.

GreeceFrance & Spain

BlufishEast Asia Project

Italy

Fish for Good

India

MexicoPathway Projects

16

fisheries In-Transition
to MSC20

countries involved
in Pathway Projects

54

fisheries implementing
action plans

China, South Korea,
Japan

Fish for GoodWest African Projects(LEAD & PPAMP)

Indonesia

Cape Verde, Mauritania, Senegal,
Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia

Western
Australia

Benguela Project
Namibia, Angola

Fish for GoodSouth Africa

Western Australia: Pathway pioneer

14

11This year marked the 10th anniversary of a world-leading commitment tosustainable fishing in Western Australia. As well as being home to the first ever
MSC certified fishery, Western Australia pioneered the first state-wide initiative
to promote certified sustainable fishing. In 2012, the Western Australian state
government launched a AU$14.5 million fund to support its fisheries to become
MSC certified. A total of 11 fisheries along the length of the West Australian coast
are MSC certified. And with others in assessment, over 90% of the state’s catchby volume is now engaged in the MSC program. This includes a number of firsts:
the world’s first certified abalone and sea cucumber fisheries, the first MSC
certified pearls, and the first co-managed commercial and recreational fishery.
It’s an inspiring example for other Pathway Projects around the world.

Western Australia’s leadershipand commitment to global bestpractice in fisheries management
is being benchmarked aroundthe world helping safeguard
seafood supplies for future
generations.
Anne Gabriel, MSC Program Director –Oceania and Singapore

12Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Ocean
Stewardship
Fund
US$2.8milliontotal grants awarded

64

projects and fisheries

40%

supporting developing
economy fisheries

18

countries covered

24

research projects funded

Find out more about our
Ocean Stewardship FundTranslocating sea urchins in Mexico, attaching satellite tags
to stingrays in the Mediterranean, testing seabird mitigation
measures in Iceland, developing DNA testing to understand bycatch
risks in Indonesia: these are just some of the innovative projects
underway thanks to support from the Ocean Stewardship Fund.
The Ocean Stewardship Fund supports fisheries on their pathway
to sustainability, with a particular focus on small-scale fisheries
and those in developing regions. Since we set up the fund in 2019,
we have awarded 64 grants totalling US$2.8 million to support awide range of projects – but we have ambitious plans to scale up
its impact.
We have committed 5% of annual royalties from MSC certified
product sales to the Ocean Stewardship Fund, and are seeking
external funding from third-party donors to grow the fund further.
Our ambition is to raise a total of €10 million (US$11 million) by theend of 2022. Already, we have seen generous contributions from
the MAVA Foundation, which is supporting fisheries improvement
projects in the Mediterranean and West Africa, and the Walton
Family Foundation, which is supporting a loan guarantee scheme
for fisheries committed to sustainability.
Mexico Baja California red sea urchin diver-caught fishery. © Romana Gabriela Ehuan Noh /José Alberto Zepeda Domínguez / Luis Malpica Cruz / María Teresa Tavera Ortiz / Ezequiel Carrizo

Ocean Stewardship Fund supporting sustainable fishing

13

Blue swimming crab, Indonesia
More than 270,000 people on the Indonesian island of Madura
rely on the blue swimming crab fishery for their livelihoods.
But this valuable commodity was heavily exploited throughout
the 1990s, leading to heavy declines in the number and sizeof the crabs caught. The Ocean Stewardship Fund has been
supporting efforts to rebuild the crab population and improve
the sustainability of the fishery, including avoiding interactions
with endangered, threatened and protected species andtackling ghost fishing. The fishery is intending to enter full
assessment against the MSC Standard over the next year.

Deep-sea discoveries, Greenland
International scientists at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology havebeen working with Sustainable Fisheries Greenland to identify
vulnerable seabed habitats in Western Greenland. Fish stocks
are shifting in the Arctic because of climate change. As aresult, it’s important that ocean habitats are mapped before
fishing operations move into new fishing grounds, helping
them to avoid any potential damage to sensitive ecosystems.
A second grant in 2022 will support further research to map
and protect rare deep-sea habitats close to certified halibut
fishing operations in the Davis Strait.

Red sea urchin, Mexico
Mexico’s red sea urchin fishery hopes to become MSC certified
by 2025. Divers harvest the sea urchins by hand, so it’s a highly
selective fishery, but it’s important that harvesting levels arecarefully managed. The Ocean Stewardship Fund has been
supporting various improvements, with the latest grant funding
research into the effects of artificially transferring sea urchins
into areas where the kelp they feed on is more abundant. This
could offer a “win-win” situation, allowing depleted kelp areas
time to recover while the urchins thrive in their new home –but it’s vital to strike the right balance to avoid unintended
consequences on the marine environment.

Saving seabirds, South Africa
When the South African hake fishery became MSC certified in
2004, it successfully managed to reduce accidental seabird
deaths by over 90% by using bird-scaring lines. But whilethese work well offshore, they’re less effective on smaller
inshore vessels. Now, with an Ocean Stewardship Fund
grant, the fishery is collaborating with BirdLife South Africa
to develop bespoke measures to prevent birds colliding withtrawl cables. Structural modifications for attaching birdscaring lines have been tested on three different types ofinshore vessels to date. The project is also trialling the use ofcameras to monitor interactions with seabirds.

Andrea Angel of BirdLife South Africa.
© MSC / Albatross Task Force

We had seen the need for thisresearch to take place for along time, but due to lack offunding and a direct way tobenefit the fishing fleet,getting support had not beenpossible until funding from
the MSC became available.
Andrea Angel, BirdLife South Africa

14Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Progress on the water
MSC engaged catch remained above 15 million tonnes*
202122

15,360,000

Progress on the water

Proportion of global catch that is MSC certified
MSC certified and suspended marine catch and fishery data as of 31 March 2022,
compared with total marine catch for UN FAO Major Fishing Areas in 2020.

19%of all wild marine
catch was engaged
with the MSC**

15,980,024

202021
0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Millions of tonnes

15%

MSC certified

Number of fisheries engaged in the MSC program

2020-21599

2021-22628

2%

In assessment

2%59

MSC certified
but suspended

countries engaged*MSC 2021-22 marine catch (follows MSC exclusion policy
and does not include farmed fish or inland fisheries) comparedwith latest UN FAO data (2020).
**Engaged means certified, suspended or in MSC assessment

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Approximate location of MSC certified fishing activity

539

fisheries certified (of which 24 were suspended),plus another 89 in assessment

15

16

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

1,958

A journey of
improvement

Fisheries improving performance

Find out more about how MSC Certified
fisheries are improving

Sardines in Cornwall, UK: The Cornish sardine fishery has
made several improvements over the last couple of years,
closing seven conditions of certification since 2020. Membersof the Cornwall Sardine Management Association are working
alongside scientists at the UK government agency Cefas(Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture) to conduct
new research to improve understanding of stock dynamics.
It’s part of an effort to ensure sustainable management of thestock by incorporating new scientific information into theirharvest strategy. The fishery also strengthened recordingsof discards and slippage events (surplus catch released fromnets alive while still in the water) in fisher logbooks. Slippage
has since been reduced to 3% of overall catch. The fishery also
installed CCTV on all vessels in the 2020-21 season to offer
independent monitoring of fishery operations, alongside anobserver program established in 2018.

100
98
96
94
92
Score

Fisheries are scored separately against the three Principlesof the MSC Fisheries Standard: sustainability of the stock(Principle 1); ecosystem impacts (Principle 2); and effective
management (Principle 3). To pass an assessment theymust score at least an average of 80 for each Principle,
indicating the fishery meets global best practice, while ascore of 100 represents state-of-the-art performance.
Fisheries improve their scores as they stay in the
program. The graph shows the distribution of Principle
scores from all currently certified fisheries that havecompleted at least two full assessments against the
MSC Fisheries Standards. For all three Principles, scores
increased between when fisheries joined the program
and the beginning of the second certification period.*

90
88
86
84
82
80

*See supplementary information file for full details of analysis.

2,087
improvements made by
MSC certified fisheries up to
31 March 2022

A journey of improvement

Sustainable
stock

Environmental
impactEﬀectivemanagement

InitialFirst
assessment reassessment

InitialFirst
assessment reassessment

InitialFirst
assessment reassessment

Greenland halibut in northern Canada: The Canada
Greenland halibut bottom trawl and gillnet fishery has
been conducting research with the University of Windsor
in Ontario, Canada, to improve understanding of potential
impacts of fisheries on Greenland shark populations.

17

Although Greenland shark is the world’s longest-living
vertebrate, with some found to live for hundreds of years,
much remains unknown about the population and theimpacts of interactions with fisheries. The research,
supported by a grant from the MSC Ocean Stewardship Fund,has fitted sharks with satellite tags to improve scientificunderstanding on their post-release survival as well as
training fishers on best practices in handling and release.
The fishery has also made changes to fishing practices toreduce bird bycatch, including setting nets after dark without
floodlights, introducing heavier lines that sink faster anddisposing of offal on the opposite side of the vessel from
where the nets are hauled.
Northern shrimp in the Gulf of St Lawrence: The northern
shrimp trawl fishery in Canada’s Gulf of St Lawrence has beencertified since 2009 and continues to make improvements.
With its latest recertification in 2020, the fishery implemented
new rules to avoid vulnerable marine habitats. At-sea
observers help to ensure compliance, with logbook andsatellite tracking data also recording the fishery’s footprint
and identifying any overlap with sensitive habitats. Fishinglicence restrictions, seasonal closures and catch limits also
help to prevent impacts on sensitive habitats.

Improvements in fisheries are often driven by conditions of certification. These require
fisheries to develop an approved action plan for achieving global best practice on every
one of the 28 performance indicators against which they are assessed. A condition is set
if a fishery achieves minimum sustainability requirements on an indicator (at least 60)
but less than best practice (80). The condition is closed when it scores 80 or above, withthe time limit usually being the lifetime of a certificate, five years.

418 improvments over the last three years, consisting of:161
improvements benefiting endangered,threatened and protected species,and reducing bycatch

107
improvements benefiting stock
status and harvest strategies

76
improvements benefiting
fishery management,
governance and policy

74
improvements benefiting
ecosystems and habitats

Four sardine fishers hauling the net over the side of the vessel. © MSC / Nigel Millard

18

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Volume sold by product type 2021-22 (total: 1,255,000 tonnes)

Sales are stable but
challenges remain
Despite a challenging year, sales of MSC
labelled sustainable seafood remained
stable overall. There was dynamic growthin North America, southern Europe, Japanand South Korea, with new products andpartnerships being launched. Sales of
MSC labelled tuna were up 20% globally,
showing the strong consumer appetite
for sustainably sourced tuna from thegrowing number of certified fisheries. And
the market has seen impressive growthin other product lines, including close toa 50% increase in MSC certified pet foodsales globally to 93,000 tonnes.
While MSC certified seafood sales overall
held up well during the pandemic, during
the year we saw strong signs of recovery
in the sectors that have suffered. The
lifting of Covid-19 restrictions brought
a 39% increase in the food-to-go sector
and food-service sales picked up
again as businesses maintained theircommitment to sustainability.

The suspension of North East
Atlantic pelagic stocks, including
mackerel and Atlanto-Scandian
herring, is starting to take hold in the
supply chain and has had a noticeable
impact on overall sales, given thesefisheries were the source of many
popular canned and smoked products
across Europe.
These fisheries were suspended
from the program in 2019 and 2020
respectively, due to the inability offishing nations to agree a quota
share in line with science which has
resulted in stocks being fished up
to 140% of the recommended level.
This underlines the critical need forgovernments to step up their efforts
to secure the long-term health ofthese fisheries by agreeing robust
management plans, with the sum ofnational quotas in line with
scientific advice.

+5%

March
2022
March
2021

SingleMultisiteGroup
Consumer-facing0

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000

Frozen plain

Frozen plain!./00$%&13$1"3$%&'45*)))&
Chilledprepared
147,800 tonnes!./00$%&13$1"3$%&'45*)))&
Chilled prepared
147,800 tonnes
177,600 tonnes+,##$177,600 tonnes+,##$-

20,447products withthe blue MSC label

Surimi
Surimi70,000 tonnes
70,000 tonnes
Frozen prepared
Frozen prepared
367,900 tonnes
367,900 tonnes

CannedCanned183,400 tonnes
183,400 tonnes

Chilled plain
Chilled plain
63,000 tonnes
63,000 tonnes

Pet food

Pet foodBC3/A/=$+&>,,%
93,000 tonnes=$+&>,,%
BC3/A/
93,000 tonnes
Food
Food
serviceservice46,60046,600tonnestonnes
6,,%&
77
Food
to go
6,,%&
Food
to go
29,60029,600tonnestonnes

Ready
Ready
meal
meal
46,40046,400tonnestonnesFish
Fishcounter 66
counter

Fish oils Baby foodFish oils Baby food

Number of live MSC labelled consumer products
2021-222021-222020-212020-21

US$12.28
billionretail sales value

62
nations where consumers
can buy products with theblue MSC label

Chain of Custody certificate holders

Sustainable seafood sales

46,277

sites with Chain of Custodycertificate holders

2019-20
2019-20
2018-192018-192017-18
2017-18
2016-172016-17

Other
Other
Germany
Germany
FranceFranceUnitedUnitedStates
StatesUnitedUnitedKingdom
Kingdom
Netherlands
Netherlands
Belgium
Belgium
SwedenSwedenSwitzerland
Switzerland
Denmark
Denmark
Italy
Italy

2015-16
2015-16
2014-15
2014-152013-142013-142012-132012-132011-122011-122010-112010-11
2009-10
2009-10
0

0

5,000
5,000

10,00010,00015,00015,00020,00020,00019

20

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Early visionaries

Early visionaries of thesustainable seafood movement
Rewind 25 years, and for most companies in the seafood sector,
sustainability wasn’t high on the agenda. Price, quality, taste,
provenance and health considerations all influenced the seafood
choices made by shoppers and diners. The long-term viability of fishstocks or the impacts of fishing practices on marine ecosystems? Not
so much.
But a few companies were beginning to see things differently – andnot just those serving a niche market of eco-conscious consumers, butsome of the biggest names in the business.
It was consumer goods giant Unilever – then owner of the Iglo andBirdseye brands – that set up the MSC with WWF. Their commitment
to using MSC labelled fish in mass-market frozen products paved theway for the certification of major whitefish fisheries including Alaska
pollock, New Zealand hoki, South African hake and Russian pollock.
Leading retailers soon came on board: discount giants Aldi and Lidlin Germany, Sainsbury’s in the UK, Carrefour in France. In the US,
the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, made waves throughout supply
chains by signalling its commitment to sustainable seafood. One ofJapan’s largest retailers, Aeon, brought MSC labelled products into the
Asian market. Food-service giants like McDonald’s introduced the MSC
blue label to millions of customers.
These brands and many others have helped drive the global
sustainable seafood movement over the last quarter-century. Bymaking ambitious commitments to sourcing MSC certified seafood,they have created market incentives for responsible fishers, raised
consumer awareness, influenced other companies to improve their own
sourcing practices and encouraged more fisheries to seek certification.
Today, sustainability is on everybody’s agenda – and the commitmentof our partners continues to support positive change for the future of
the ocean.
Big shoal of fish swimming in the depths of the sea underwater. © iStock

Early visionaries
Iberconsa
increases sustainable seafood supplies
in Southern Europe, supporting thecertification of South African hake in2004 and Namibian hake in 2020. In
2021, the company sold more than
3,600 tonnes of certified cape hake toEuropean retailers. The company is also
spearheading the launch of a fisheryimprovement project for Argentine hakethat aims to achieve certification to the
MSC Standard.

2004

2015

21

Recent partnership highlights
Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU)JCCU launched an ambitious new sustainability goal, pledging that by 2030 at least
half of its seafood will come from certified sources, with an emphasis on MSC and
ASC products. In 2021, over 10% of its seafood was MSC certified. Japan’s largest
consumer organisation, JCCU serves more than 300 co-ops with 30 million members.

Lidl

Iglo

launches Europe’s first and largest
private-label product range withthe blue MSC label – and it’s stillinnovating 15 years later, with
branches in Germany launching theirown private-label tuna brand in 2021.

This frozen food giant – part of the Nomad Group, which also owns the Birdseye
and Findus brands – has been a driving force for certified sustainable seafood
over the last 25 years. It already sells 100% MSC certified products in several
European countries, and they were joined this year by Belgium and Portugal. The
success in the latter was made possible by the certification of the Namibian hake
fishery in 2020 – a process which the company advocated for over several years.

AEON

FOODSERVICE APME

launches the first MSC labelled
product from a large-scale retailchain in Japan. Today it sells morethan 50 products from 29 species
with the blue MSC label.

One of Asia’s leading food-service companies FOODSERVICE APME, achieved MSC
Chain of Custody certification across Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong,
Cambodia and Dubai. The company’s in-house premium seafood brand Ocean
Gems includes three MSC certified products, which include octopus, hard-shell
clam and sockeye salmon. The products are sold in retail, e-commerce andfood-service outlets, including hotels, across all six countries.

2006

E-commerce innovations

2011

In March 2022, online retailer Ocado
launched a new filter to make it easierfor customers to find sustainableseafood on its website. And Waitrosein the UK launched an online equivalentof its end-of-aisle promotions toencourage seafood consumers to
buy MSC labelled products.

IKEA

McDonald's

commits to sell only certified
sustainable seafood to its 650
million visitors in 49 markets.
In 2021, IKEA’s four stores inIndonesia become the first outlets
in the country to receive MSC Chainof Custody certification and use theblue MSC label on their menu.

begins serving MSC labelledfish across all its restaurants in
Europe, which sell around 100
million Filet-o-Fish sandwiches
each year. Its US and Canadian
operations follow in 2013 and2014, followed by Japan in 2019
and South Korea in 2021.

The initiatives follow Sainsbury's,
which first launched an online shelf
for MSC labelled products as part ofour UK team’s Sustainable Seafood
Week campaign in 2020.
Meanwhile Amazon launched arange of MSC labelled products
online across Europe as well as in
newly opened stores in the UK. The
company also supported a joint
marketing campaign in the US during
National Seafood Month that helped
attract new customers: around 25%of the MSC certified products soldon Amazon.com during the campaign
were bought by new customers.
Waitrose pre-packed MSC certified seafood.
© FareLight Productions

22

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Species focus

23

In numbers...

6,149,000

Whitefish

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

74%

From fish fingers to surimi to fish and chips, whitefish is the key ingredient in some of theworld’s most popular seafood products. And thanks to the commitment of the fishingindustry and supply chain partners, nearly three-quarters comes from MSC engaged fisheries.
In September 2021, the Faroe Islands cod and haddock
fisheries achieved MSC certification, building on the existingcertification for ling and tusk. Being able to sell MSC certified
cod and haddock is a milestone for the country, which relies
heavily on seafood exports for jobs and income. The push for
MSC certification led the Faroese government to introduce
a new scientifically based regulation limiting the number offishing days for cod and haddock, helping to safeguard stocks.
Also newly certified in 2021 was pollock from the RussianWestern Bering Sea, adding another 300,000 tonnes of MSC
certified pollock to the market. The fishery has made a numberof improvements in working towards the MSC Standard,carrying out scientific surveys to better understand impacts
on birds and marine mammals and collecting data on bycatch.
It will need to make several further improvements as acondition of certification.

of global wild whitefish catch from
MSC engaged fisheries**
Volume of MSC labelledsales (tonnes)

The challenge of maintaining the MSC Standard was highlighted
last year when the Norway inshore cod and haddock fisherychose to remove the inshore component from its recertification.
This was because of the difficulty of meeting a condition
around separating certified North East Arctic cod and haddock
catch from non-certified coastal cod populations. The offshore
cod and haddock components remain certified while thefishery is engaged with the Institute of Marine Research andmanagement authorities to understand the cod challenges andhopes to reinstate its inshore certificates in the near future.

2021-22 | 592,095

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

174
146
81

MSC engaged fisheries
2021-22 | 136,923

One of the main markets for Norwegian cod is Portugal, which
consumes around a fifth of all cod caught globally. Demandfor MSC certified cod is growing quickly in the country, thanks
to the commitment of leading brand Riberalves to increase its
MSC labelled seafood. A third of Riberalves’ sales of frozen,
salted and ready-to-cook cod are now MSC certified.

pelaic2020-21 | 173,175

0improvements made overthe last
three200,000
years by
150,000
50,000 100,000
certified fisheries

Endangered,threatened and2021-22 | 135,829
protected species
2020-21 | 109,534 and bycatch
Ecosystems
0
20,000 40,000 60,000
80,000 100,000
and habitats

Iceland: 10 years of leadership
Icelandic Sustainable Fisheries (ISF), an organisation created to manage the
Iceland fishing industry’s engagement with the MSC program, celebrated
its 10-year anniversary in 2022. The organisation has pursued a remarkableachievement: 98% of the country’s landings now come from fisheries thatare MSC certified (including suspended). ISF has been a pioneer in gaining
certification for new species including global firsts for golden redfish,
capelin, ling, tusk, wolffish, blue ling, anglerfish, lemon sole and lumpfish,along with popular whitefish like cod, haddock, plaice and saithe.
ISF Icelandic capelin. © Hreinn Sigurdsson

Whitefish

2020-21 | 579,748

40
22
3

2021-22 | 1,878
2020-21 | 1,075
0

250

500

Stock status andharvest strategy
Fishery
management,
1,500 2000 2,500
governance and policy*Engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2020

2020-21 | 5,440

0

oct

1000

2021-22 | 5,165

Fishmonger holding a cod fillet. © MSC

tuna

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

crab

24

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Contents

Species focus

25

In numbers...

Small pelagics
Vital for marine food webs, small pelagic species
make up a quarter of the world’s fish catch. The
proportion of the small pelagic catch engaged in
the MSC program has more than tripled to 18% in
the last eight years.
Back in 2014, just 4% of the wild catch of small pelagic fish
was engaged in the MSC program. Engaging with more small
pelagic fisheries has been one of our strategic priorities
because of their importance in marine ecosystems andextensive use in aquaculture feed. Our aim is for a third ofsmall pelagic fisheries to be engaged in the program by 2030.
To achieve this, we’re focusing on working with fisheries inSouth America and North Africa. Also contributing to thisgoal is a project funded by the MAVA Foundation, which is
supporting small pelagic fisheries in Mauritania, Senegal,
Gambia and Guinea-Bissau to work toward the MSC Fisheries
Standard.
One of the main uses of small pelagics is as fish meal
for feed in the aquaculture industry, and with farmed
fish consumption continuing to grow, it’s vital that thisis sustainable. This was highlighted in the new ASC Feed
Standard released in June 2021, which requires certified fish
farms to ensure their feed comes from progressively moresustainable sources at each recertification – with the aim ofreaching 100% MSC certification for marine ingredients.

In 2021, the combined individual quotas
for mackerel, Atlanto-Scandian herringand blue whiting exceeded ICES adviceby 41%, 35% and 25% respectively.

4,296,000

Calls for action on North East Atlantic quotas
With governments failing to listen to the scientific advice onrecommended North East Atlantic pelagic quotas, the supply
chain has been pushing for action.
Fishing states in the North East Atlantic have failed to reach an
agreement over joint management plans for mackerel, AtlantoScandian herring and blue whiting stocks. Instead, they have
set individual quotas far above sustainable limits: since 2015,
combined catches have exceeded sustainable levels by 34%,
or 4.8 million tonnes. As a result of not implementing quotas
in line with scientific advice, in combination with a decline inoverall stock health, the fisheries in question had their MSC
certification suspended in 2019 and 2020 – a major blow to thecompanies that are committed to buying these species fromsustainable sources.
The North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group, which represents
around 50 retailers and seafood companies, has been leading
calls for an agreement on lower catch limits. And the MSC has
been pushing for action at international events including at
the Arctic Circle Assembly. Encouragingly, there were signsof progress at the annual meeting of the North East Atlantic
Fisheries Commission in November 2021, with a declaration thatall parties are committed to reach quota-sharing agreements
for all three stocks within the 2022 period. However, there isa long way to go to achieve a quota share agreement in linewith scientific advice from the International Council for the
Exploration of the Sea (ICES), so it is essential that the pressure
for progress continues.
In the meantime, some brands have been looking elsewhere to
bring consumers sustainable mackerel. Leading retailers Migros
in Switzerland, Delhaize in Belgium and Albert Heijn in the
Netherlands have all recently begun selling MSC certified Chilean
jack mackerel, and German seafood brand Followfood is about tolaunch canned Chilean jack mackerel bearing the blue MSC label.
The Chilean-based mackerel fishery achieved MSC certificationin 2019, shortly followed by a Dutch-flagged fleet in 2020: theirrecognition by high-value European markets demonstrates
how fisheries that meet the stringent requirements of MSC
certification can benefit from new opportunities where demandfor certified sustainable seafood is high.

Capelin certification

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

While disputes continue over other small pelagics in the North East
Atlantic, the certification of the Icelandic capelin fishery shows
effective international management of shared stocks is possible.
Although the capelin’s distribution has shifted in recent years, aneffective coastal states agreement and harvest control rules haveenabled the fishery to adapt to shifts in the distribution of thecapelin stock.

18%

ofglobalwild small pelagic catch
2021-22| 592,095
from MSC engaged fisheries**
2020-21 | 579,748

Icelandic Sustainable Fisheries (ISF) granted Greenland andNorway access to its MSC certification for capelin, reducing costs
and ensuring close cooperation between fishery clients. With thecertification of the Faroe Islands’ share of the capelin catch in
February 2022, all Icelandic capelin fishing operations are now
MSC certified. The hope is that this will contribute to an ongoing
effective coastal states agreement.

0Whitefish

Volumeof MSClabelled
200,000
400,000
600,000
sales (tonnes)^

2021-22 | 136,923

pelaic2020-21 | 173,175
050,0006247

100,000 150,000 200,000

MSC engaged fisheries

2021-22 | 135,829

tuna2020-21 | improvements
109,534
made over0

the last three years by

20,000 certified
40,000 60,000
80,000 100,000
fisheries102021-22 | 1,878
2020-21 | 1,075
0

250

3
21
13
500

2021-22 | 5,165

2020-21 | 5,440
0Find out more about
small pelagic fisheries

ISF Icelandic capelin fishery. © Hreinn Sigurdsson

Endangered,threatened andprotected species
and bycatch

1,500 2000
1000Ecosystems

and habitats

oct

2,500

Stock status andharvest strategy

crab

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

Fishery management,
governance and policy*engagedmeans
certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC
2021-22| 59,798**as of UN FAO data, 2020
^eco-labelled
2020-21 |products
89,194largely destined for human consumption,
engaged catch more representative of volumes destined forfishmeal/oil and human consumption

salmon26

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Species focus

27

In numbers...

Tuna

Recent years have brought a rapid
increase in certified tuna volumes – from
14% of the world’s major commercial
tuna catch in 2014 to almost 40% today.
Sales of MSC labelled tuna reached
136,000 tonnes, compared to 50,000
tonnes five years ago. And with several
fisheries entering assessment this year,
the market is set to grow further.
Retailers have been instrumental indriving growth in MSC certified tuna
sales, particularly for canned tuna, as
they seek to meet consumer demand
for sustainably sourced seafood. In
May 2021, for example, Lidl Germany
began the switch to using MSC
certified skipjack tuna in its privatelabel brand, Nixe – the blue MSC label
is now appearing on Nixe tuna cansacross the country. In the US, Walmart
began a partnership with The Nature
Conservancy and the Marshall Islands
to supply MSC certified canned skipjack
tuna for its Great Value brand, withprofits being directed back into PacificIsland communities.
The Bolton Group, which owns tunaprocessor Tri Marine, has also been a key
player in transforming the tuna industry.

2020-21 | 579,748

As well as launching MSC labelled
products through its brands such as
Rio Mare and Saupiquet, by 2024
Bolton has pledged to source 100% of
its tuna from MSC certified fisheries
or from those working to meet the
MSC Standard through robust fisheryimprovement projects.

Calls for collaboration inWestern Central PacificHighly migratory species like tuna requireinternational management – individual
fisheries can’t operate sustainably inisolation. That’s why, when fisheries in
the Western Central Pacific achieved MSC
certification, it came with conditions thatthe 26 member states of the Western
Central Pacific Fisheries Commission– the regional management body thatoversees the stocks – must agree on
harvest strategies and control rules toensure the future sustainability of sharedtuna stocks.
However, this has proved hard toachieve. With the region supplying
over half the global commercial tuna
catch and nearly three-quarters of MSC
certified tuna, failure to make progress
could slow momentum towarda sustainable tuna industry.

200,000

57%

A traditional handline tuna
fishery in the Philippines became
the first in the country to achieve
MSC certification, following a
10-year improvement project
supported by WWF.

*

400,000

600,000

136,923of2021-22
global| wild
tuna catch from**
MSC
engaged2020-21| 173,175fisheries
0

50,000pelaic100,000 150,000 200,000

Volume of MSC labelledsales (tonnes)

With support from the Ocean
Stewardship Fund, the MSC
certified Echebastar tuna fisheryin the Indian Ocean is carryingout research working with AZTI tobetter understand and mitigate
the impacts of derelict fish
aggregation devices (FADs) on
coral reefs and other vulnerable
ecosystems. It has also beenworking to design and constructbiodegradable FADs.

2021-22 | 135,829

tuna2020-21 | 109,534
0

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000124
382021-22 | 1,878

MSC engaged fisheries

2020-21 | 1,075

0American Tuna was the firstcompany to market MSC certified
tuna in the US, sourced fromthe American Albacore Fishing
Association, the first MSC
certified tuna fishery in theworld. The business started in2007 with just eight pallets and asingle MSC certified tuna productcaught one by one in the North
Pacific. Today, the company
supplies 33 MSC certified tunaproducts from several fisheries
to multiple retailers.

Find out more about tuna,and read our Sustainable
Tuna Handbook

Whitefish

tonnes MSC engaged catch
0

Sales of MSC labelled tuna products jumped 24% in the last year
as a growing number of brands fulfilled their pledges to source
certified sustainable tuna. The proportion of the global catch of majorcommercial tuna fisheries engaged in the MSC program grew to 57%.

Retailers drive growth insustainable tuna

2,882,000
2021-22 | 592,095

Tuna highlightsfrom 2021-22

improvements made over1000 1,500 2000 2,500
the last
three years bycertified fisheries

500

250

12

2021-22 | 5,165

Endangered,threatened and2020-21 | 5,440
protected species
and bycatch
0
1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

1
3
222021-22 | 59,798
2020-21 | 89,194
0

20,00040,000Stock status andharvest strategy
60,00080,000salmon100,000

Fishery management,
governance and policy

2021-22 | 50,653**as of UN FAO data, 2020

2020-21 | 48,176

0

crab

Ecosystems
and habitats*Engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC
Hamis pulls tuna to the boat. © MSC

oct

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000

prawn

2021-22 | 592,095

28

Whitefish

2020-21 | 579,748

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Species focus

In numbers...
0

Octopus and squid

To overcome this, as part of our Fisheries
Standard Review we’ve proposed
additional guidance to support squidand octopus assessments. This involves
using alternative reference points andstrategies for maintaining stock levels,
such as ensuring that a certain percentageof the total biomass is left in the sea. The
research triggered by one of the conditions
from the Asturias certified fishery has

We’ve also been supporting cephalopod
fisheries working toward the MSC
Standard. This includes one of the biggest
octopus fisheries in the world, located on
Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, which is partof the In-Transition to MSC program. This
year, the fishery received a grant from the
Ocean Stewardship Fund to help improvecatch data collection and monitor the use
and impact of certain crab species as bait.
Its progress was also highlighted as part of
our International Symposium on Octopus
Sustainability, held in Vigo, Spain andbroadcast online to 150 participants fromaround the world on World Octopus Day (8October). The conference highlighted theIt may have been a slow start, but the storyof certified sustainable squid and octopus
has a long way to go.

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

2%

050,000100,000 150,000 200,000

of2021-22
global| 135,829
wild cephalopod catch from
MSC engaged fisheries**tuna2020-21 | 109,534

of MSC80,000
labelled
20,000Volume
40,000 60,000
100,000
sales (tonnes)

2021-22 | 1,878

oct2020-21 | 1,075
0

500

250

6
5

1000

1,500

2000

2,500

2021-22 | 5,165

MSC engaged fisheriescrab

2020-21 | 5,440

0improvements made overthe last three years bycertified fisheries

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

12021-22 | 59,798
2020-21 | 89,194
0

20,0001
340,0002021-22 | 50,653

The Yucatan octopus fishery is very important both nationally and internationally, with agreat impact on fishing communities. Funding from the Ocean Stewardship Fund is allowing
us to identify areas to implement improvements throughout the fishery s̓ supply chain.

pelaic2020-21 | 173,175

need for greater support from the supply
chain to help octopus fisheries becomesustainable and meet global demand.
Strengthening the management ofoctopus and squid fisheries is all themore important since they are among
the few marine species that may benefit
from a warming ocean. This could open
up opportunities to increase supplies
of sustainable seafood and help fishingcommunities to adapt to climate change– but only if stocks are carefully managed.
In addition, an Ocean Stewardship Fundproject looking at alternative sources of bait
for Australian tuna and billfish fisheries
has identified recently certified sustainablesquid from the US as a possible solution.

600,000

2021-22 | 136,923

0

also led to the development of a more
precautionary new reference point, socalled “latent productivity”, that is better
adapted to short-lived and naturally
fluctuating stocks such as cephalopods.

400,000

71,000Find out more
about octopus

Cephalopods are relative newcomers to the MSC program. It was almost 20 years before the firstcertification of an octopus fishery: an artisanal fishery in Asturias in north-west Spain, certified
in 2016 and recertified in August 2021. The first squid fishery followed two years later. And whilea handful more fisheries have been certified since, there’s still a long way to go before the MSC
label becomes a common sight on polpo or calamari.

Part of the challenge is that octopus andsquid have very different population
dynamics from most fish and shellfish.
They have short lifespans – typically onlyaround one to three years – and numbers
can fluctuate dramatically according to theenvironmental conditions. As a result, it
can be challenging to calculate maximum
sustainable yield, which is part of the
MSC Standard’s usual scoring criteria forassessing the sustainability of the stock.

200,000

29

2020-21 | 48,176

Endangered,threatened andprotected species
and bycatch
60,00080,000salmon100,000

Stock status andharvest strategy

Fishery management,
governance and policy

prawn

0*Engaged
10,00020,00030,00040,000means
certified,suspendedor in50,000
assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2020

Lorena Rocha Tejeda, Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI)
2021-22 | 41,127
2020-21 | 43,826

bivalves

Abrolhos octopus is processed in Geraldton, Western Australia
to supply domestic and international markets. © MSC

2021-22 | 136,923

30

2020-21 | 173,175

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

pelaicSpecies focus

31

0 numbers...
50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000In277,000

Crab and lobster

2021-22 | 135,829

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

14%

With two new certifications and two recertifications in the past year, fishers around theworld are stepping up to meet growing demand for certified crab and lobster.

Argentine southern king crab

The Argentine Patagonian southern king crab fishery achieved
MSC certification in March 2022, becoming the fourth fisheryin Argentina to be certified. The fishery will now be able to sellcertified king crab to its main export markets in China, Japanand the US.
The certification is a milestone in a long journey of
improvement. The crab traps include escape rings tominimise bycatch of juvenile crabs and other species, andmust include a biodegradable component to prevent “ghost
fishing” if traps are lost.
A student research project funded through the MSC’s
Ocean Stewardship Fund scholarship program provided key
information about how effectively the escape rings helped
reduce spider crab bycatch in the fishery.
The fishery will continue to make sustainability improvements
through a condition of certification, including providing
evidence of the measures taken to avoid negative impacts
on other species and habitats.
BBQ lobster with lime, chilli and ginger by Chef Guy Turland© MSC

0

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000

of global wild crab and lobster catch
2021-22 | 1,878
from
MSC engaged fisheries**

Recertification drives further improvements
in crab fisheries

2020-21 | 1,075

Two Western Australian crab fisheries recertified this year are
making innovative improvements as conditions of certification.

0

The crystal crab fishery, which operates in remote waters
around 200km from the coast of Western Australia, iscollecting information about impacts on deep-sea habitats.
With a grant from the Ocean Stewardship Fund, it will attach
underwater cameras and lights to the crab traps, allowing
researchers to analyse potential impacts on different habitat
types. Although the fishery has used cameras before, this is
the first time they have been able to operate in deep-water
habitats, hundreds of metres below the surface.
The Peel Harvey estuary fishery, which targets both blue
swimmer crab and sea mullet, is the only co-managed
commercial and recreational fishery to achieve certification.
While it successfully closed all the conditions attached toits original certification, when it was reassessed against
an updated version of the MSC Standard, further areas for
improvement were identified. One of these was around
potential impacts on migratory wading birds in the nearby
wetland of international importance in Mandurah. With
support from the Ocean Stewardship Fund, researchers will use
high-resolution satellite imagery, machine learning and on-site
surveys to investigate how fishing activity overlaps with andaffects wading bird populations.

tuna

2020-21 | 109,534

250

oct

Volumeof MSC500
1,500labelled2000 2,500
1000
sales (tonnes)

2021-22 | 5,165

crab

2020-21 | 5,440
01,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,00050
432021-22 |MSC
59,798
engaged fisheries

salmon2020-21 | 89,194

0

improvements made overlast three
20,000the
40,00060,000 years
80,000by100,000
certified fisheries

23

2021-22 | 50,653
2020-21 | 48,176

Measuring a brown crab.
© MSC / David Loftus

0

These funds, kindly provided by MSC, will help us
ensure the sustainability of two of our fisheries – sowe’re grateful for this. The MSC program has been
important to me personally, as it’s improved our ability
to better share our passion for getting the science rightwith industry colleagues.
Dr Dan Gaughan, Chief Fisheries Scientist, Government of Western Australia

497Endangered,threatened andprotected species
and bycatch

Ecosystems
10,000 20,000 30,000
40,000 50,000

2021-22 | 41,127

and habitats

Stock status andharvest strategy

2020-21 | 43,826
0

prawn

Fishery management,
governanceand policy
10,000 20,000 30,000
40,000 50,000*Engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2020biva© Sainsbury's

32

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Contents

2021-22 | 135,829

2021-22 | 1,878

tuna2020-21 | 109,534

In numbers...

SalmonAlaska salmon was one of the first
fisheries to be MSC certified back in
2000, and as one of the world’s mostpopular fish species, it remains a key
part of the MSC program.
The popularity of salmon has beensoaring in Germany in recent years –German consumers eat more salmon
than any other type of fish. Althoughmuch of this is farmed, there’s anever-growing range of sustainable wild
salmon bearing the blue MSC label.
Among the pioneers in the Germanmarket was salmon specialist

02021-22 | 1,878

Gottfried Friedrichs, one of Germany’soldest seafood companies. In 2002,
the family-owned company was thefirst in Germany to offer MSC certified
smoked Alaska salmon, and it
continues to put sustainability at theheart of its range.
In the past 12 months, 165 wild
salmon products carrying the MSC
ecolabel have been launched inGermany, Austria and Switzerland.
These include frozen fillets andchilled prepared products – as well as
42 new pet food products containing
MSC certified salmon.

One new salmon fishery was certified this year, the Kolkhoz Udarnik Karaginsky
Gulf Karaga Bay and Litke Strait Pacific salmon fishery on Russia’s Kamchatka
peninsula. This latest achievement takes the total number of Kamchatka salmon
fisheries meeting the MSC Standard to 30. Sadly, it is likely to be the last for sometime. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Assurance Services International –which oversees the organisations that carry out certification assessments – hassuspended all new assessments in Russia for the time being.

tonnes MSC engaged catch
2020-21 | 1,075

82%

0

500

250

1000

1,500

2000

MSC
engaged fisheries**
2020-21 | 5,440
0Prawn and shrimp

2,500

5,165 salmon catch fromof2021-22
global| wild

crab

Volume of MSC labelledsales (tonnes)
salmon2020-21 | 89,194
0

20,00044
2040,00060,00080,000100,000

MSC engaged fisheries

2021-22 | 50,653

prawn

2020-21 | 48,176

0Improvements made overlast three years by
10,000 20,000
30,000fisheries
40,000 50,000
certified3

Endangered,threatened andprotected species
2021-22 | 41,127
and bycatch

Wild crispy skin salmon with white bean
and coriander puree. © MSC

11
6

2020-21 | 43,8260

Stock status andharvest strategy
10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
Fishery management,
governance and policy*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2020

351,000
2021-22 | 5,165

bivalves

MSC labelled potted shrimp comes to Sainsbury’s
If future generations are to enjoy traditional seafood favourites, then they need
to be sustainable today – so the launch of the first MSC labelled potted shrimp iscause for celebration. The British dish, known as one of James Bond’s favourite
delicacies, is made from brown shrimp in butter flavoured with nutmeg and otherspices. Available in Sainsbury’s under The Good Tide brand since September
2021, the MSC labelled potted shrimp is handmade by the Seafood and Eat It
company. The shrimps come from the North Sea brown shrimp fishery, whichbecame MSC certified in December 2017.
Meanwhile, another certified shrimp fishery – the Wash brown shrimp fishery– has been gathering better data on the types of species it encounters andidentifying mitigation measures to ensure it isn’t hindering the recovery of any
endangered, threatened or protected species. The project, driven by a conditionof certification, is being supported through an MSC student research grant.
The Wash brown shrimp fishery lands around 95% of the common shrimp(Crangon crangon) caught in UK waters.
Barents Sea shrimp certification
The FIUN Russian Barents Sea northern shrimp fishery achieved certification in
September 2021. The fleet includes around 25 vessels, which landed more than
25,000 tonnes of shrimp in 2019. It joins an array of MSC certified fisheries from
Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway targeting northern
prawn (Pandalus borealis) in Arctic waters. It also now joins other North Atlantic
countries trying to deliver more effective harvest controls rules to ensure longterm protection of these abundant stocks.
E-commerce giant in China sells certified prawns
In November 2021, JD.com, China's largest e-commerce company, pledged toprioritise MSC certified sustainable sources for the launch of its new JMeal
brand. The line includes 10 new products including cold-water prawns fromcertified fisheries in Norway.

crab

2020-21MSC| 5,440
tonnesengaged catch*

11%0

A total of 34 prawn and shrimp fisheries are now certified to the MSC Fisheries
Standard, from common shrimp caught in Chilean waters to northern shrimp
in the Barents Sea. Shrimp and prawn fisheries have also made significant
improvements to fishing practices, minimising impacts to sensitive marine life.

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,0002021-22 | 59,798

oct

In numbers...
500
2501000 1,500 2000 2,500

oct

*

33

0

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000

488,000

Species focus

2020-21 | 1,075

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

of2021-22
global |wild
prawn and shrimp catch
59,798from MSC engaged fisheries**

salmon2020-21 | 89,194

0

20,00040,000of 60,000
80,000 100,000
Volume
MSC labelledsales (tonnes)

2021-22 | 50,653

prawn

2020-21 | 48,176
0

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000

34
44

MSC engaged fisheries

2021-22 | 41,127

2020-21 Improvements| 43,826
made over0

last three years bycertified
fisheries
10,000 20,000
30,00040,000 50,000

16
13
11
4

Ecosystems
and habitats
Endangered,threatened andprotected species
and bycatch
Stock status andharvest strategy
Fishery management,
governance and policy*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2020

2021-22 | 5,165

crab

2020-21 | 5,440

34

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-220Species focus

35

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

In numbers...

370,000

Bivalves

2021-22 | 59,798

2020-21 | 89,194

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

0

20,00040,00017%

The Yalu Estuary clam fishery
A clam fishery in the Yellow Sea has
will be the first of many. The
become the first in China to achieve
success of this pilot project
MSC certification. The Yalu Estuary
has encouraged not only
Manila clam fishery was certified in
September 2021, following a successful
clam fisheries, but also crab,
fishery improvement project that began in squid and anchovy fisheries
2016. The project was supported byto consider entering the
WWF and Dandong Taihong Foodstuff,
MSC program.
a major supplier of seafood to the
But while demand from Japan andother export markets was one of thedrivers behind seeking certification,
the fishery also hopes the annual
harvest of around 200,000 tonnes will
help create a larger market for MSC
labelled products within China. Chinese
consumers are increasingly interested insustainability: the 2022 MSC GlobeScan
survey found that almost three-quartersof Chinese seafood consumers believedthat we need to consume fish and seafoodfrom sustainable sources in order to savethe ocean.
The Manila clam fishery is the sixth
Chinese fishery to achieve MSC
certification. Operating in the mudflatsof the Yalu River estuary, an importantarea for migratory birds, it supports the
livelihoods of many coastal communities.
The Yalu Estuary Manila clam fishery. © MSC

60,00080,000100,000

50,653of2021-22
global |wildbivalve catch from

Clam first points to growth ofsustainable seafood in China

Japanese market.

salmonAn Yan, MSC China Program Director

Scallop first
In October 2021, the Abrolhos Island and
Mid-West scallop trawl fishery became
the first scallop fishery in Australia toachieve MSC certification.
Contributing more than AU$5 million
to the regional economy, it’s the 11th
commercial fishery in Western Australia
to achieve certification – meaning thataround 90% of the state’s fisheries byvalue are now MSC certified.
A second, larger scallop operation justsouth of Melbourne shortly followed,
with the Bass Strait central zone scallop
fishery achieving certification in March2022 – adding a further 2,500 tonnesof certified sustainable scallops on themarket for consumers.

MSC
engagedfisheries**
2020-21| 48,176
0

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000

Volume of MSC labelledsales (tonnes)

2021-22 | 41,127

bivalves

2020-21 | 43,826
0

prawn

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000

50
22MSC engaged fisheries
Improvements made overlast three years bycertified fisheries

2
5

6
9

Ecosystems
and habitats
Endangered,threatened andprotected species
and bycatch
Stock status andharvest strategy
Fishery management,
governance and policy*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2020

SeaweedSeaweed certification has taken off
since the launch of the MSC-ASC
Seaweed Standard in 2017, with a
total of 1,500 tonnes already certified
and 11,500 tonnes in assessment.
Consumers could soon be eating
sustainable crispy seaweed snacks
after a Korean farm became the firstof its kind to be certified against thejoint ASC-MSC Standard.
Laver is one of the most popularvarieties of edible seaweed. Usually
dried into sheets for use in snacks
and sushi, it is also known as nori,or gim in Korea. Pulmuone, one of
the most popular food brands in
Korea, encouraged the local laverfarm to be certified and it became
the third Korean producer to achieve
the ASC-MSC Standard. Pulmuone
launched the certified seasonedlaver, roasted laver and dried
seaweed snacks to export to Europe
and the USA as well as supply indomestic markets. The farm grows
two seaweed species from floating

Find out more about the
MSC-ASC Seaweed Standard
rafts off the western coast of
Korea. The seaweed grows soquickly that it can be harvested
after just 50 days.
The Yellow Sea on Korea’s west
coast is rich in biodiversity, andvarious seaweed species provide animportant habitat for cephalopods,
crustaceans, fish and shellfish. Aspart of the certification process,auditors confirmed that the farm
does not have any adverse effects
on the aquatic ecosystem or local
biodiversity.

In numbers...

13,000tonnes MSC engaged harvest*

49

Engagedfarms

Certified seaweed is also disrupting
the aquaculture industry. A year
after microalgae producer Veramarisachieved certification, its algal oil
is being sourced by Florida-based
aquaculture company Atlantic
Sapphire and US-based salmon feed
company Skretting. Rich in Omega-3,
the certified algae are enabling thecompanies to reduce the fish oil
content of their feed by 25%.

Team Veramaris was exceedingly proud to be the first natural
marine algal oil producer to be certified by ASC-MSC, supporting thecontinued sustainable growth of aquaculture while taking pressure
off finite forage fish resources, traditionally used as a source ofOmega-3. It has been an exciting journey of collaboration along thevalue chain, working with feed mills, farmers, food processors andretailers to achieve a common vision of sustainable growth.
Karim Kurmaly, Chief Executive Officer, Veramaris"Cottonii" seaweed farm in front of Semaya village. Althoughmany seaweed farms in Nusa Penida Island were damaged
and closed because of ice-ice disease, seaweed in Semaya
village was healthy and green. © Makoto Suzuki / MSC

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Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Stakeholder survey

37

Global Seafood Consumer Perceptions Survey
Every two years, independent research consultancy GlobeScan carries out thelargest survey of its kind to understand the latest consumer attitudes to ocean
health, seafood consumption and ecolabels.
The 2022 survey polled over 25,000 consumers across 23 countries.*

What you think of us
Listening to and learning from our partners is at the core of our work
– because it’s only by working together that we can achieve ourvision of oceans teeming with life and secure seafood supplies.

More than 1,000 people shared their views
through the independently run MSC Global
Stakeholder Survey 2021. The online
survey was an opportunity for those who
engage with the MSC to tell us what they
think about us and to suggest areas for
improvement. We received responses fromevery continent, from fisheries, seafoodbusinesses, NGOs, scientific institutes,
governments and many more.
Overall, there was a strong level of
support, with 79% saying they werelikely to speak favourably about the MSC.
Seven out of 10 said they had a highlevel of trust in the MSC to contribute toending overfishing – which was identified
as the most urgent ocean issue. Aroundhalf said they were satisfied with the
MSC Standards, with very few expressing
dissatisfaction.

48%
Find out more about the
MSC Stakeholder Survey
Many women from Madura Island take part in theblue swimming crab business. © FishForGood2020

The survey also reflected the competing
priorities that we have to balance. Many
industry stakeholders would like to
see less complexity, lower costs andfewer barriers to participation to
expand the impact and scale of the
MSC program – but NGOs and other civilsociety stakeholders tend to request
stricter criteria.

We’re grateful to everyone who
took part, and are incorporating
feedback into our new strategicplan, which is currently being
developed.

While we’re seen as a credible
certification and ecolabelling program,participants said they would like the MSC
be a leading voice on ocean issues. They
wanted the MSC to act as an authority on
sustainable fishing and seafood, to raise
consumer awareness and advocate forstronger government policies, and to growour scale, reach and scope to cover moremarkets, types of fisheries, species andsocial issues.

The MSC should be a vocal
leader in defining whatsustainable seafood is, how
to measure a healthy ocean,
and what seafood consumers
can do to contribute towarda healthy ocean.
– Retailer/brand, North America

56%
78%
60%

of consumers surveyed
say they have seen the
MSC label (up from
46% in 2020)of consumers that recognise the
MSC label understand what itmeans (up from 53% in 2020)

Buying moresustainable seafood isthe number one action
seafood consumers
say they will take toprotect the ocean

Globally, people said their top
reasons for protecting theoceans were...

of consumers who have seen
the MSC label say they trust its
claims [up from 75% in 2020]of seafood consumers say seeing
the MSC label would make themmore likely to purchase a product44%

of seafood consumers
put overfishing in their
top 3 most worrying
ocean issues

Find out more about the
Global Seafood Consumer
Perceptions Survey

24%

had boughtsustainable seafoodin the last year39%
say they will buy moresustainable seafoodin the future

Because oceans
are necessary forthe future healthof the planet.
To prevent ocean
wildlife fromgoing extinct.
So their children
and grandchildren
will have healthy
oceans.

63%
60%
51%

*The survey was carried out in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea(new in 2022), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA using online questionnaires. A total of 25,869 consumers were surveyed across these countries between 25 January and 16 March 2022, including
20,127 seafood consumers. The global averages reported are based on all 23 markets unless stated otherwise. For global averages, each country is weighted equally, regardless of sample size.

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Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Building awareness andunderstanding of the MSC
With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in retail environments and the return of in-person events, we havebeen able to expand our marketing and communication efforts – from award ceremonies and seafood
expos to education events with schools, it was great to be out and about with our partners again.

Chefs, partners, fishers andconsumers from around the worldcame together to promote sustainableseafood for our “Big Blue Future”
World Ocean Day campaign.
We had 161 partners involved, including 72
ambassadors and influencers. The campaign wasrolled out across 20 countries, translated into 18
languages and reached 37 million people aroundthe globe – including educating over 15,000
children about looking after the ocean.

As part of our education
program, we developed
a partnership with World
Ocean Day for Schools, a
coalition of organisations
with a mission to engage
schools globally inocean literacy reachingover 5,000 subscribers.
We also collaborated with Teachers For Future Spainon an educational project about sustainable fishing,reaching more than 10,000 students.

McDonald’s beganselling MSC labelled
Filet-O-Fish burgers in its 407
restaurants in South Korea
in April 2021. We marked
the occasion with a monthof promotional activities instore and online, including aYouTube advert with over halfa million views.

Building awareness and understanding of the MSC

39

All images© MSC
Alaska salmon, Annette Islands © MSC

In the UK, “All Hands on
Deck” was the theme ofour second Sustainable
Seafood Week, withover 40 commercial,fishery and institutional
partners joining us to raiseawareness of sustainableseafood. The campaign
included billboard and bus stop ads, digitalmarketing and social media, more than 70 piecesof media coverage, and support from MSC UK chef
Ambassadors Mitch Tonks and James Strawbridge.
The campaign achieved a reach of over 5.7 million.

In the US, we joined forces
with ecolabels Fairtrade
America and Non-GMO ona campaign to celebrate“Little Labels That Make a
Big Impact” during Good
Food Month. We developed
a toolkit for retailers,
ran joint webinars andcollaborated with dozens of retailers to promote thecampaign. For National Seafood Month in October, we
ran an MSC label awareness campaign on Amazon’s
online video platform and TV streaming service which
was seen 1.5 million times.

Watch our "Big Blue Future" campaign film

We held our first Seas
Forever Week in Portugal
in November. Chefs andartists joined the campaign
to promote the importanceof sustainable seafood.
The event involved an art
installation of a painted boaton display at the Oceanário
de Lisboa (public aquarium) and a local branch ofContinente, Portugal’s biggest retailer.
Local artist Tomás Pires or ‘ÔJE’ helped to illustrate
and inform people of the importance of protecting ourmarine resources. Chef Ricardo Luz was also on handto share his top sustainable seafood tips.

We celebrated 10 years of
the MSC in Spain with an
event at the prestigious
Círculo de Bellas Artesin Madrid. More than
100 people participated,
including representatives
from certified fisheries,
commercial partners,
NGOs, government officials, MSC ambassadors
and journalists.

40

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Our funding and donors
This year we would especially like to thank the
many donors, including trusts, foundations andstatutory bodies, from across the globe that havesupported our work. In addition to the generous
support for MSC’s many projects, we also received
significant and new generous grants for our Ocean
Stewardship Fund. This has included support from
the MAVA Fondation pour la Nature to help smallscale fisheries in the Mediterranean and Western
Africa as well as from the Walton Family Foundation
to establish a new loan guarantee facility, enabling
fisheries working towards sustainable management
practices to access additional financing.
We would also like to thank the Dutch Postcode
Lottery for its continued core support; the Walton
Family Foundation for its continuing generous
support for projects around the world; the David
and Lucile Packard Foundation for facilitating ourEast Asia Sea Pathway to Sustainability project; theAdessium Foundation for supporting our work in
the Mediterranean; the A.G. Leventis Foundation forwork in Greece; and the Remmer Foundation for a
grant to work with small-scale fisheries in southern
Africa. Finally, we also continue to receive generous
core support from the Triad Foundation and Holzer
Family Foundation for which we are truly grateful.

We would like to thank the following
organisations for their support:
US Foundations

Statutory bodies

David and Lucile Packard Foundation

MMO (Marine Management
Organisation, for Project UK)

Walton Family Foundation
New Venture Fund
Remmer Family Foundation
Triad Foundation

UK Trusts and Foundations

Corporate

A.G. Leventis Foundation

Project UK (various)

Dutch Postcode Lottery
MAVA Fondation pour la Nature(Switzerland)

41

Report by theTrustees on thesummarised
financial statements
The summarised financial information is
extracted from the full statutory trustees’
annual report and financial statements
which were approved by the trustees andsigned on their behalf on 26 July 2022.

WWF-Sweden
WWF-UK (for Project UK)

Adessium Foundation (Netherlands)

Our finances����-��

NGOs

Holzer Family Foundation

European Foundations

Our funding and finances

Total
incomeTotal
expenditure£29.8 million£28.7 million

Where the money comes from
8.0%

Donations and legacies

1.7%

Other trading activities

87.8% Income from charitable		
activities (logo licensing)
2.5%

Income from investments

Where the money goes to
19.8% Policy and maintenance of Standard
35.8% Education and awareness	
33.8% Commercial and fisheries 		
servicing and outreach
5.7%

Logo licensing

2.7%

Ocean Stewardship Fund

2.2% 	Expenditure on raising funds

MSC Cornish sardine fishery. © Oliver Berry

Total funds at 31 March 2022: £40.7 million
Compared with total funds of £38.8 million on 31 March 2021

An unqualified audit report was issued
in relation to the full statutory trustees’
annual report and financial statements
by our auditors Crowe U.K. LLP on
15 August 2022.
The auditors have confirmed to thetrustees that, in their opinion, thesummarised financial information isconsistent with the full financial
statements for the year ended 31 March
2022. This summarised financial
information may not contain sufficient
information to gain a complete
understanding of the financial affairs of
the charity. The full statutory trustees’
report, financial statements and auditors’
report may be obtained in writing from
Finance Director, Marine StewardshipCouncil, 1 Snow Hill, London, EC1A 2DH,
United Kingdom.
Signed, on behalf of the Trustees:

Other gains and losses in the year not shown under income or expenditure
amounted to a gain of £0.8 million

Werner Kiene,
Chair, MSC Board of Trustees

15 August 2022

42

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

Governance���� -��

The MSC Board of Trustees
The MSC Board of Trustees is the MSC’s governing body. Withadvice from the Technical Advisory Board and the Stakeholder
Advisory Council, it sets the strategic direction of the MSC,
monitors progress and ensures the MSC meets its objectives.

Dr Werner Kiene
Chair
Mr Paul Uys
Chair, Marine StewardshipCouncil International Board
Ms Amanda Nickson
Co-Chair, Stakeholder
Advisory Council

Governance

The TechnicalAdvisory Board

Dr Christopher
Zimmermann(Germany) Chair

The Technical Advisory Board advises
the MSC Board of Trustees on technicaland scientific matters relating to the
MSC Standards, including developing
methodologies for fishery and supply
chain certification and accreditation
and reviewing the progress of fisheriescertifications.

Dr Florian Baumann(Germany)
Dr Tim Essington(USA)
Dr Victor Restrepo(USA)
Dr Keith Sainsbury(Australia)
Ms Michèle Stark(Switzerland)

Mr Giles Bolton

Mr Stuart GreenMr Jim Leape
Mr David Lock
Dr Kevin Stokes
Welcome to new members:

Dr Christopher
Zimmermann
Chair, Technical Advisory
Board

Thank you to
departing members:

Mr Kristjan Th. Davidsson

Mr Eric Barratt
Find out more about
MSC's governance

Mr Sergey Sennikov(Russia)
Mr Adam Swan(UK)
Dr Rebecca Lent
(USA) (Co-opted Member)
Mr José Augusto Pinto de
Abreu(Brazil) (Co-opted
Member)Thank you to
departing members:
Ms Lucia Mayer
MassarothMs Kerry Smith

Ms Maria Damanaki

Ms Stefanie Moreland
Co-Chair, Stakeholder
Advisory Council

Membership is correct as of 31 March 2022

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council
International Board
The Marine Stewardship Council International (MSCI) Board provides
oversight of the MSC’s ecolabel licensing and fee structure.

Mr Paul Uys
MSCI Chair
Dr Werner Kiene
MSC Board of Trustees
Chair
Mr Rupert Howes
MSC Chief Executive
Ms Valentina Tripp
Welcome to new members:
Mr Giles Bolton
Mr Fernando Lago
Thank you to
departing members:
Mr Eric Barratt© Dorothea OLDANI Unsplash

Mr Jeff Davis
Membership is correct as of 31 March 2022

43

44

Contents

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2021-22

The MSC Stakeholder
Advisory Council

Ms Amanda NicksonPaul M Angell Family
Foundation, USA

The MSC’s Stakeholder Advisory Council
provides advice to the MSC Board ofTrustees and input into the MSC’s review
processes and provides a formal bodythrough which stakeholders can provide
their views to the MSC. It includes
representatives from the seafoodindustry, conservation community,
market sector and academia.
The membership reflects diverse
experiences, geographies and interests
in relation to the work of the MSC.

Ms Stefanie Moreland
Trident Seafoods, USA
Dr Johann Augustyn
SADSTIA, South Africa
Ms Heather Brayford
Government of Western
Australia, Department ofPrimary Industries andRegional Development,
Australia
Mr Rory Crawford
Birdlife International/
RSPB, UK

Ms Yumie Kawashima
Aeon, JapanMr Tor Larsen
Norwegian Fishermen’s
Association, Norway
Dr Ghislaine Llewellyn
WWF International,
Australia
Ms Christine Penney
Clearwater Seafoods,
CanadaMr Ivan Lopez Pesquera
Ancora, Spain

Ms Carmen Revenga
The Nature Conservancy,USA
Ms María José Espinosa
RomeroCommunidad y
Biodiversidad A.C (COBI),
MexicoAt the MSC, we are humbled by what ourpartners have achieved over the last 25 years– and determined to play our part in tacklingthe challenges ahead.
Rupert Howes, Chief Executive, Marine Stewardship Council

Thank you to
departing members:
Ms Agathe Grossmith

Mr Marco Quesada
Conservación
Internacional, Costa Rica
Membership is correct as of 31 March 2022

MSC Cornish sardine fishery. © Oliver Berry45

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All data in this report is correct as of 31 March 2022, unless otherwise stated. The reporting year
is 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.
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