Recognising & rewarding
sustainable fishing
The Marine Stewardship Council
Annual Report 2020-21

Contents

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of theseafood industry, all over the world. But rather than roll backon their commitment to sustainable seafood, fisheries, supply
chain companies, retailers and consumers have demonstrated
remarkable resilience and deepened commitment tocontributing to the health of our oceans.
Rupert Howes, Chief Executive, Marine Stewardship Council

Cover image: The crew on Serene Dawn – a Cornish Sardine fishery © Nigel Millard
Contents image: Hake trawl vessel, the Laxe Dos leaves Walvis Bay harbour. The boat is part of the Namibian hake fishery certified in November 2020.

Contents
Messages from our Chief Executive and Chair			2

Meeting the challenge 			4

Reviewing our Fisheries Standard 			6

Increasing accessibility 			8Supporting sustainable fishing 			

10

Progress on the water 			

12

A journey of improvement 			14

Sustainable seafood sales continue to grow 			

16

Whitefish 			18

Small pelagics 			20

Tuna 			22Octopus and squid 			24

Crab and lobster 			26

Salmon 			28

Prawn and shrimp 			29

Bivalves 			

30

Seaweed 			31

Campaign highlights 			32

Our funding and finances 			34

Governance 			

36

1

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

A message from our CEO
For most of us, the past year has been oneof the most profoundly challenging we haveever faced.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of the seafoodindustry, all over the world. But rather than roll back on theircommitment to sustainable seafood, fisheries, supply chain
companies, retailers and consumers have demonstrated
remarkable resilience and deepened commitment to contributing
to the health of our oceans. I have been overwhelmed by thecontinuing adaptability, innovation and positive engagement
shown by our partners.
These qualities are needed more than ever as we face up tochallenges even greater than Covid. The climate crisis is already
impacting on fisheries and ocean health more widely. Several
MSC certificates have been suspended, in part because of the
impact of climate change on fish stock health and migratory
patterns and continued ocean warming and acidification place
yet more strain on the marine environment. While MSC certified
fisheries demonstrate the benefits of sustainable fishing, thelatest United Nations figures show that more than a third ofglobal fish stocks have been exploited beyond sustainable limits.
This exacerbates the already daunting task of feeding a global
population that will be pushing 10 billion a generation from now.
Yet despite these trends, I feel optimistic. The public and political
will to tackle the threats to our oceans and the livelihoods they
support is greater than ever. Corporate leadership is moreingrained – you will see many examples of this in the following
pages. Sustainability is becoming increasingly important incapital markets, with the recognition that environmental, socialand governance risks are also business risks.

Messages from our Chief Executive and Chair

Contents

The MSC and our partners are well placed to be part of thesolution. MSC partners are already contributing to the deliveryof the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water),and as we begin to develop our new strategic plan. The MSC will
strive to see how we can do more, through the leadership of ourengaged partners. Agenda 2030, in my mind, remains humanity’s
best last chance to shift our economies onto a more equitable andsustainable future. We have the route map and it is now ours to
win or lose.
At its core, the MSC remains a certification and labelling programthat uses the power of the market to drive improvements inglobal fisheries. During the last year, we have been reviewing
our Fisheries Standard to ensure it remains the benchmark forsustainable fishing. I look forward to the conclusion of thisprocess and the release of our revised Fisheries Standard in 2022.
The MSC is also looking ‘beyond the label’ to increase ourcontribution to a thriving ocean. Our Ocean Stewardship Fund,for example, has already disbursed £1.3 million to projects toaccelerate progress on sustainable fishing. We have committed
5% of all royalties from MSC certified product sales to the fund,so this is only the beginning.
My thanks go to all our partners, to the MSC Board, Stakeholder
Advisory Council and Technical Advisory Board, and to all MSC
staff who have shown such dedication during this most difficultof years. I look forward to all we will achieve together in theyears ahead.

3

A message from our chair
The past year has certainly brought challenges– but thanks to the relationships and processes
that we have built up over the years, the MSC
has managed to remain remarkably productiveat operational and governance level.
Governance meetings – for the Board, the Stakeholder Advisory
Council and the Technical Advisory Board – have all taken placeby video. While we are all looking forward to being able to meetin person again, we have learnt important lessons from ourwork during the pandemic. The flexibility and efficiency of virtual
meetings can be a big advantage, and we have started to think
about how we will be able to adapt to new ways of working
in future.
The work of the Board this year has been dominated by thereview of the MSC’s Fisheries Standard. The topics underreview, such as the interaction of certified fisheries withendangered, threatened and protected species, have prompted
great stakeholder interest and engagement. Effective assurance
is another key issue: we know that in the vast majority of cases
our Standard operates as it should do, but as the world’s
leading seafood certification and ecolabelling program we arerightly held to the highest standards.

interested sectors to find solutions that satisfy all sides.
This is a tribute to the co-chairs, Stefanie Moreland andAmanda Nickson, and to all the other members who havebeen so engaged and so professional. The same holds forour colleagues on the Technical Advisory Board, very capably
guided by the chair, Dr Chris Zimmermann, and supported
by experts from industry and academia. All this work on
governance is ably supported by the expertise of many others
inside and outside of the MSC Executive and by our Governance
Secretariat and the Board is greatly appreciative of thesecontributions.
Through our governance structure we engage with the MSC’s
stakeholders and convey their input back to the managementof the organisation. This helps us to think more strategically, to
see the challenges ahead, and to future-proof the organisation– whatever novel challenges come our way.

Werner Kiene, Chair, Marine Stewardship Council Boardof Trustees

Integral to this process is our Stakeholder Advisory Council,
which has done superb work to bring together a diverse groupof stakeholders from industry, the NGO community and other

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive, Marine Stewardship Council
Large school of black jack over the Liberty Wreck in Tulamben, Bali © iStock4

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Contents

39
millionMeeting thechallenge
In an exceptionally difficult year, fisheries
and their supply chains had theiroperations massively disrupted by the
Covid pandemic. With many countries inlockdown and multiple restrictions on
movement, fisheries, processers, otherseafood supply businesses and retailers
had to adapt to changing circumstancesand new Covid-secure ways of working.
Yet despite the disruption and uncertainty
caused by Covid-19, consumers boughtrecord numbers of MSC labelled products.
More fisheries around the globe became
certified to the MSC Fisheries Standard,taking the total to 421; 19% of the world’s
wild marine catch is now from fisheries
engaged with the MSC program.
The growth of the MSC’s program against
the backdrop of the pandemic is a sign ofthe strength of the sustainable seafood
movement – a movement that has built
over decades. This year, four fisheries –Western Australian rock lobster, Alaska
salmon, Burry Inlet cockles and New
Zealand hoki – celebrated 20 years of
MSC certification, testament to a long-term
vision of harnessing seafood supplies
for future generations.

Meeting the challenge

The contribution that MSC certified
fisheries make was recognised in the
UN’s fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook.
Although the report was a generally
sober assessment of global biodiversity,
it did single out progress against thetarget on ‘Sustainable management
and harvesting of fish’, highlighting
MSC certified fisheries and the growthof sustainable wild caught landings overthe past decade.
But despite this progress, greater action
is needed to meet the scale of thechallenges facing our oceans. The UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture2020 report revealed that the worsening
trend in overfishing continued, with morethan a third (34%) of the world’s fisheries
now overfished. Too many governments
continue to put short-term interests
before sustainability. One consequence of
this for MSC certified fisheries was that in
December 2020, eight Atlanto-Scandian
herring and blue whiting fisheries had
their MSC certificates suspended. Thiswas due to the failure by governments
to reach agreements on catch levels andquotas stretching back several years,
putting the future health of these stocks
at risk.

Governments also failed to reachagreement on ending harmful fishingsubsidies, one of the major drivers of
overfishing, despite hopes that World
Trade Organization talks in December
2020 would break the 20-year deadlock
over the issue. The MSC and our partners
also continue to urge better managementof global tuna stocks, supporting calls
for the international commissions
responsible for managing tuna to set
robust harvest strategies that include
control measures and catch limits.
This institutional inertia is out of stepwith growing public activism around theoceans. The pandemic has heightenedawareness of the need to protect ourvaluable natural resources for future
generations. As this year’s data shows,
consumers are increasingly choosing to
buy MSC certified seafood. An expanding
range of products, combined with a public
actively seeking sustainable choices, is a
powerful driver for accelerating progressin sustainable seafood over the
coming years.

Read the State of World
Fisheries and Aquaculture2020 reportpeople directly employed inwild capture fisheries

60
millionpeople employed inseafood sector

3.3
billionpeople getting at least 20% of their
daily animal protein intake from fish

10%
proportion of global
population relying on
fisheries for theirlivelihoods
UN FAO State of World Fisheries
and Aquaculture 2020

Fisher Anna Vesper Gunnarsson fishing pikeperch in Lake Hjälmaren in Sweden © Karolina Pihlo and Ulf Berglund

5

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Reviewing ourFisheries Standard
We regularly review our Fisheries Standard to ensure it continues to set the bar forsustainable fishing, by reflecting widely accepted new science, management practices
and stakeholder concerns.
The pandemic pushed us to do more online engagement than previously planned– with encouraging results. In developing our last Fisheries Standard in 2015, we
received 67 responses from 36 organisations. This time, our five initial surveys received
268 responses. We also ran 11 virtual workshops with over 200 participants representing
over 150 organisations from 33 countries.
Building on this, in May 2020 we launched our first virtual Fisheries Standard Review
conference. Over 400 people attended, including NGO representatives, fisheries
staff, certification assessors, academic scientists, government officials, retailers
and journalists.
Participants had the opportunity to hear – and ask questions – about all 16 projects that
could result in changes to the MSC Fisheries Standard. These projects are looking at
areas such as harvest strategies, gear loss and ghost fishing, clarifying requirements forendangered, threatened and protected species, and preventing shark finning.
We will continue the consultation process over the coming months and will be carryingout impact assessments of all the proposed changes. The draft version of the newStandard will be released in early 2022, when our stakeholders will have the chance toreview it, making sure that the changes are clear and that the updated version enables
further progress in sustainable fishing practices.

Find out more about ourFisheries Standard

Reviewing our Fisheries Standard

Contents

7

Maintaining assurance
during Covid
Exceptional circumstances –like a global pandemic – cancall for exceptional measures.
Over the last year, we issued anumber of temporary changes
to our requirements, known asderogations. These enabled
us to respond to the criticalissues posed by Covid-19
without having to revise
our Standards or guidance
documents. While remote anddesk-based audits have beenpart of the system in certain
cases for a long time, use of
these during the pandemic
has significantly increased.
We have required greater
oversight, such as risk
assessments and for fisheries,
additional independent peer
review to double-checkdesk-based audits insome cases.
In addition, although thesame level of performance isneeded, fisheries have been
given more time to carry out
the required improvements
associated with MSC
certification. Encouragingly,
there was no significant dropin the number of assessments
carried out in 2020 compared
to previous years, although
the time for surveillance audits
to be completed increased by amonth on average.
Quayside crew member Wilhelmina Amunyela offloading frozen hake from Merlus freezer vessel, Torra Bay, Namibia

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Increasing
accessibility

Increasing accessibility

Contents

Developing regions

84

Indonesian squid fisheries
In-Transition to MSC
The mitre squid supports several
fishing communities in Belawan, a busy
harbour in Medan, Indonesia. For thelast 10 years their main export market
has been the UK – and because of theimportance UK retailers and consumers
place on sustainability, the fisheries
recently joined our In-Transition to
MSC program.

fisheries engaged*

We want the MSC program to be accessible to all fisheries – irrespectiveof size or location. The number of small-scale fisheries and fisheries fromdeveloping regions engaged with the MSC’s program rose in 2020-21.
This is welcome: according to the FAO, small-scale fisheries provide
approximately half the global seafood catch each year and over 90% of alljobs in fishing. Meanwhile, fisheries from low-and middle-income countries
support countless livelihoods and generate valuable export revenue.

19.8%
of MSC engaged catchIn

29

With support from our Fish for Goodinitiative and Ocean Stewardship Fund,the fishers have partnered with IPB
University and the Indonesia Ministryof Marine Affairs and Fisheries toresearch where the squid gather tospawn. The findings will highlightsensitive areas that fisheries should
avoid to protect young squid, which willgrow to become their future stock.

countries
Many small-scale fisheries and fisheries
from developing regions can find it hard tomeet the complex requirements of the MSC
Fisheries Standard. But we are working hard
to make our program accessible.
The Fish for Good project is a flagshipexample of how we are approaching thischallenge. Working in partnership withothers, the project is focused on supportingfisheries in South Africa, Mexico andIndonesia. Improvements and capacity
building focus on areas such as reducing
bycatch, limiting habitat impacts andrebuilding fish stocks. For the last four
years, the MSC has benefited from generous
funding to support the Fish for Good projectfrom the Dutch Postcode Lottery, which
this year announced a further €1.5 million
over the next three years for engagement
and capacity building with fisheries indeveloping regions.
*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC

Our In-Transition to MSC (ITM) pilot program,launched in 2019, also supports fisheriescommitted to achieving certification. The
program offers a way of independently
verifying a fishery’s progress on an annual
basis, helping them stay on track to achieve
the improvements needed to meet the MSC
Standard. Fisheries in the ITM program arealso eligible to apply for financial support
to carry out improvements from the MSC’s
Ocean Stewardship Fund. As of March 2021,
the program included 10 fisheries, four ofwhich had joined in the previous quarter: theIndonesia Madura Island blue swimmer crab
trap, Indonesia squid handline, India Kerala
deep-sea shrimp trawl, and Indonesia Evu
mud crab trap.

Find out more about how we arehelping small-scale fisheries
and developing regions

Small-scale fisheries

96

fisheries engaged*

The project will also collect informationon the role of the squid in the wider
food web, including as a food sourcefor other animals such as sharks,
marine mammals and birds.

18.6%

of MSC engaged fisheriesIn

Ultimately, the ITM program will help
the squid fishery improve its practices
and progress towards full MSC
assessment, helping to secure its
long-term future.

24

countries

Fisherman with line jig fishing for mitre squid in Belawan, Medan in Indonesia © Rai Seafoods / PT Toba Surimi Industries

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

This funding will contribute to grassroots engagement withlocal fishing communities and provide fertile ground forcollaboration between fishers and conservationists, during
and after this project. We’re hopeful that this project willstrongly contribute to tackling one of the biggest marine
threats that seabird populations are now facing.
Yann Rouxel, Bycatch Project Officer, RSPB

Ocean Stewardship Fund supporting sustainable fishing

Contents

Supporting
sustainable fishingMore than £1.3 million has been awarded through our
Ocean Stewardship Fund in its first two years of operation,
to 35 fisheries and projects all over the world. The goal of thefund, launched in 2019, is to accelerate progress by supporting
innovative research and fisheries that are committed tosustainability. The MSC commits 5% of all royalties from certified
product sales to the fund. In 2021, £650,000 was awarded to 20
projects focusing on topics from improving at-sea observer safety
and harvest strategies to the sustainability of bait fishing andreducing unwanted bycatch.
This year’s projects are spread across the globe from Iceland toIndonesia and Australia. Recipients include fisheries in Europe,
Asia and the Americas, as well as conservation bodies suchas the RSPB, WWF-India and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Nearly a quarter of the funding has been awarded in support offisheries in developing regions.

Stewardship in action
Funding from the Ocean Stewardship Fund is allocated throughdifferent grant schemes. Five examples from 2021 reflect thebreadth of its operations:Find out more about the
Ocean Stewardship Fund

The Ocean Stewardship Fund 2021-22
is open for applications in October 2021.

Fishtek Marine’s innovative bycatch mitigation device the ‘Looming Eyes Buoy’ being trialled in Estonian waters © Andres Kalamees

11

Using technology to enhance fishery observer safety:
Independent observers play a vital role in monitoring fisheries
operations at sea, but their role can be difficult and dangerous.
This grant will help develop a bespoke one-touch communications
platform for observer safety, which will also improve datareporting. Researchers hope to have a scalable open-source
platform in place by the end of November 2022.

Climate models to predict blue swimming crab survival:
This award will support a master’s student to develop a model
predicting how climate change will impact the distribution andabundance of Indonesian blue swimming crabs, which are known
to be particularly susceptible to changing environmental factors
at different life stages. Some 275,000 people are employed in thisnationally important fishery.
Making Kerala’s deep-sea shrimp fishing sustainable:
This project supports a fishery improvement project for the deepsea shrimp fishery in Kerala, India. Lack of research means thefishery has yet to prove its sustainability, but by funding a stock
assessment, led by WWF-India, we hope to create a reference point
for harvest control rules and better management. The goal is toattain MSC certification by 2025.
Testing novel seabird bycatch mitigation devices in Iceland:This project is conducting field trials of a new bycatch mitigation
device called the “looming-eyes buoy”. The floating buoy has
obvious eyes on it that effectively reduce the presence of seabirds.
Developed by Fishtek Marine, a prototype will now be tested in the
ISF Iceland lumpfish fishery by researchers from the RSPB, as thefishery was certified with a condition that it must not hinder therecovery of endangered, threatened or protected seabirds.
Incentivising long-term sustainability commitments:
We awarded nine grants through our Recertification AssistanceFund in 2021 to fisheries that have successfully achieved
recertification – in effect, to reward fisheries that have alreadyshown a substantial commitment to the MSC program andsustainability. Proportional grants go towards fees for a second(or subsequent) recertification audit.

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Progress on the water
MSC engaged catch reached 16 million tonnes*
202021

16,000,000

201920+11.4%

Progress on the water

Contents

Proportion of global catch that is MSC certified
MSC certified marine catch (including suspended fisheries) and fishery data for the 2020-21 financial year, compared withtotal marine catch in each FAO major fishing area in 2018 (latest UN data available).

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

14,200,000
0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

14%

MSC certified

3%

MSC certified
but suspended

2%

In assessment

Millions of tonnes

Number of fisheries engaged in the MSC program
202021

201920

516
498

+3.5%

55

An additional 10% of global
marine wild catch came fromfisheries working towards
MSC certification**countries engaged*MSC 2020-21 marine catch (follows MSC exclusion policy and does not include farmed fish or inland
fisheries) compared with latest UN FAO data (2018).

*Engaged means certified, suspended or in MSC assessment**Fisheries working towards MSC certification comprise those in the
In-Transition to MSC program, Pathway Projects at stage three or four, andcomprehensive fisheries improvement projects listed on fisheryprogress.
org that have MSC certification as an explicit end goal.

Find out more about fisheries
progressing towards MSC
certification here

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Approximate location of MSC certified fishing activity

446

fisheries certified (of which 25 were suspended),plus another 70 in assessment

13

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Contents

A journey of improvement

15

1,958

A journey of
improvement

The Australian Eastern tuna and billfish fishery, which spansthe entire eastern seaboard of Australia, was certified in August
2015 for longline albacore and yellowfin tuna and swordfish.
As a condition of certification, it needed to prove that interactions
with protected turtles and shortfin mako sharks had reduced toacceptable levels. The fishery introduced measures including
turtle-friendly circle hooks, de-hookers and line cutters, andimplemented electronic monitoring on all its vessels, which
demonstrated it was highly unlikely to harm the population ofthese protected species. Consequently, the certification condition
was closed.

96
94
92

Fisheries improve significantly as they stay in the
program. The graph shows the distribution of scores fromall currently certified fisheries that have completed at least
two full assessments against the MSC Fisheries Standard– typically this reflects changes over five years. For all threeprinciples there is a statistically significant improvement
between the average (median) score when they join the
program and at the end of the first certification period*.
*

Fisheries improving performance

98

Score

Fisheries are scored separately against the threeprinciples of the MSC Fisheries Standard: sustainabilityof the stock (Principle 1); ecosystem impacts (Principle2); and effective management (Principle 3). To pass anassessment they must score at least an average of 80
for each principle.

100

90
88
86
84
82
80

Sustainable
stock

Environmental
impactEﬀectivemanagement

InitialFirst
assessment reassessment

InitialFirst
assessment reassessment

InitialFirst
assessment reassessment

See supplementary information file for full details of analysis.

1,958

improvements madeby MSC certified
fisheries up to
31 March 2021
Including 372 in the last
three years, consistingof:

134
improvements benefiting
endangered, threatened andprotected species, andreducing bycatch71
improvements benefiting fishery
management, governanceand policy

101
improvements benefiting
stock status and harvest
strategies

66
improvements benefiting
ecosystems and habitats

Improvements infisheries are often
driven by conditionsof certificationthat require themto achieve global
best practice on
all performanceindicators. A conditionis set if a fisheryachieves minimum
sustainability
requirements on anindicator (60) but lessthan best practice (80)and is closed when it
attains this.

The Chile squat lobsters demersal trawl Camanchaca fishery,first certified in 2017, introduced several monitoring, control andsurveillance measures to help better understand the fishery’s
impact on endangered, threatened and protected species andcoral habitats. Conditions placed on the fishery during certification
led to better training and identification guides for crew as well as
on-board cameras installed to monitor impacts. The fishery hasreported no interactions with corals or out-of-scope species since
implementing new protocols, while new research shows its fishingzone does not overlap with any protected seamount vulnerable
marine ecosystems.
The Iceland northern shrimp fishery is supporting the Marine andFreshwater Research Institute (MFRI) to carry out seabed mapping
research in order to avoid causing harm to delicate deep-sea
sponge clusters. MSC certification is advancing research into
little-studied habitats and improving understanding of how tomanage and mitigate the impact that fishing has on them.

Find out more about how MSC certified fisheries
are improving

Processing tuna at Walker Seafoods in Mooloolaba, Queensland – the largest quota holder within Australia’s Eastern tuna and billfish fishery © Jason Thomas

16

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Volume sold by product type 2020-21 (total: 1,267,000 tonnes, +6%)

Sustainable seafood
sales continue to growDespite the challenging environment
due to the pandemic, the market for
MSC certified seafood continued to grow.
More than 20,000 products with the blue
MSC label are now available worldwide,
a 2% increase on last year’s record
figure. The number of MSC Chain of
Custody certificate holders also roseby more than 5%: as of 31 March 2021,
there were 46,205 sites worldwide with
Chain of Custody certification, ensuringthat MSC certified fish and seafood isseparated from non-certified productand clearly labelled. Businesses with
Chain of Custody certification include
supermarkets, restaurants, processors,
distributors and warehouses.
The volume of seafood sold with theblue MSC label went up 6% compared
to last year. This was driven largely byincreasing participation of brands in the
US (up 54%, or 50,000 tonnes), France (up16%, 20,000 tonnes) and Italy (up 30%,
10,000 tonnes). The increase in certified
tuna products was also substantial,
particularly in Germany (up 83%, or
13,000 tonnes).
Frozen food products saw the biggest
increase overall, and there was also asignificant rise in the volume of canned
products – both popular types of foodduring the Covid-19 lockdowns. The
pandemic led to a drop in food-service
sales (down 15%) and sales of wet fish
at fish counters (down 5%). But it isencouraging that, during a time of huge
global uncertainty, neither consumers
nor brands rolled back on theircommitment to sustainable seafood
which is increasingly available indifferent markets around the world.

+5%

March
2021
March
2020

SingleMultisiteGroup
Consumer facing

01000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

20,075products withthe blue MSC label

US$12.9billionretail sales value

Pet food
Surimi64,000Pet
food
59,000Surimi!./00$%&13$1"3$%&'45*)))&
Chilled prepared=$+&>,,%
BC3/A/
tonnes64,000tonnes59,000!./00$%&13$1"3$%&'45*)))&
203,000
tonnesChilled prepared=$+&>,,%
BC3/A/+,##$tonnes
tonnesOther
Food203,000 tonnes+,##$24,000
Other
63,:$#&10"/#&service
Food
Frozen plain
D+.$3
6,,%&
tonnes
24,00063,:$#&10"/#&43,000service
164,000
tonnes';5*)))&+,##$Frozen plain
D+.$3
6,,%&
tonnes-$38/9$tonnes
43,000Food to164,000 tonnes';5*)))&+,##$7-$38/9$tonnesgo6,,%&
Food
to
Ready
6,,%&7
go
meal
Ready
Fish
63,:$#&13$1"3$%&<(<*)))&!./00$%&10"/#&?$"%@&
CannedChilledplain
Frozen prepared
41,000meal
counter
6/-.&
76
Fish
63,:$#&13$1"3$%&<(<*)))&!./00$%&10"/#&?$"%@&
180,000 tonnes
71,000tonnes383,000
tonnesCannedChilledplain
Frozenprepared+,##$!"##$%&'()*)))&+,##$2'*)))&+,##$A$"0
tonnes
41,000counter
6/-.&76
180,000 tonnes
71,000 tonnes
383,000 tonnes+,##$!"##$%&'()*)))&+,##$2'*)))&+,##$A$"0
tonnesFish oils Baby foodFish oils Baby food2020-212020-212019-20
2019-20

Number of live
MSC labelled
consumer products

2018-192018-192017-18
2017-18

63
nations where consumers
can buy products with theblue MSC label

Chain of Custody certificate holders

Sustainable seafood sales continue to growContents

46,205sites with Chain of
Custody certificate
holders

2016-172016-17
2015-16
2015-16
2014-15
2014-152013-142013-142012-132012-132011-122011-122010-112010-11
2009-10
2009-10
0

5000

10000

15000

20000

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

Other
Other
Germany
Germany
FranceFranceUnited States
UnitedUnited States
Kingdom
UnitedKingdom
Netherlands
Netherlands
Belgium
Belgium
SwedenSwedenSwitzerland
Switzerland
Denmark
Denmark
Italy
Italy

17

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Whitefish

In numbers...

20 years of Kiwi hoki
March 2021 marked 20 years since New Zealand hoki became the first major
whitefish fishery in the world to achieve MSC certification. Exports of New
Zealand hoki are worth NZ$230 million (US$150 million) to the New Zealandeconomy. George Clement, Chief Executive of the Deepwater Group, said, “70%of the seafood from our deepwater fisheries, including hoki, is certified to the
MSC Fisheries Standard. These fisheries support whanau (extended family),iwi (kinship groups), whole communities and New Zealand’s economy.”

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

69%

There are generations offishermen in our families
and it’s really important for
future generations that thehake is fished sustainably.

of global wild whitefish catch from
MSC engaged fisheries**

Ryan Davey, Skipper.
Cornish hake fishery

Volume of MSC labelledsales (tonnes)
2020-21 579,748
2019-20 494,898
0

200,000

400,000

Whitefish

600,000

177
133
56

MSC engaged fisheries

2020-21 173,175

pelaic0last three years by
150,000
200,000
50,000 100,000
certified
fisheries

Endangered,threatened and2020-21 109,534
protected
speciesand bycatch
2019-20 72,986
Ecosystems andhabitats
20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000

36
35
6

Stock status and2020-21
1,075
harveststrategy

2019-20 319

0

200

400

Read more about hake andCornish hake fisheries

19

Sustainable hake on the up
Decades of work in Namibia’s hake trawl and longline fishery were recognised
in November 2020 when it became the first fishery in the country toachieve certification.
When Namibia gained its independence in 1990, it inherited fish stocks devastatedby industrial foreign fleets. Since then, the government, fishing sector and supply
chain players have worked together to put the nation’s fisheries back on asustainable footing. Hake plays a major part in Namibia’s fishing industry,generating US$230 million per year and supporting more than 10,000 jobs,
many filled by women who process the lucrative catch for export.
Support from supply chain partners has been crucial. “We have a key role to play inencouraging fisheries to improve their practices and have supported the Namibian
hake trawl and longline fishery on its certification journey for a number of years,”
says Stefan Descheemaeker, CEO of Nomad Foods. Nomad subsidiary Findus Italy
was one of the first companies to launch an MSC labelled Namibian hake product.
The Namibian fishery meets stringent sustainability conditions and its certification
more than doubled the amount of MSC certified Cape hake (including shallow anddeep-water hake) on the market. It follows in the footsteps of the South Africanhake fishery, MSC certified since 2004, which supports some 27,000 jobs andgenerates more than US$334 million in export revenue.

Cornish hake recertified

2019-20 224,840
Improvements
made over0

Sealord’s Otakou trawler catching hoki in the Cook Strait, between New Zealand’s North and South Islands,
during the hoki spawning season in winter 2018 © Jason ThomasHake

5,914,000

Pollock accounts for the greatest volume of sales bearing the blue MSC labelof any seafood species. The Alaska pollock fishery, first certified in 2005, is thelargest fishery by volume in the MSC program and an example of global bestpractice, having been recertified twice without a single condition. The large
volume of certified pollock and other whitefish has helped drive awareness ofthe blue MSC label in Northern Europe and the US. MSC labelled whitefish is acommon ingredient in frozen products, with the blue ecolabel gaining further
visibility in the US in 2020 by featuring prominently on the packaging of
Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s frozen fish products. Conagra Brands, which
acquired the iconic brands in 2018, has committed to sourcing 100% of its
frozen wild fish products from MSC certified sources.
The engagement of Russian fisheries has further increased the supply of MSC
certified whitefish on the market. The first Russian pollock fisheries werecertified in the Sea of Okhotsk back in 2013, and in March 2021 the scope of
their certification was extended to add another 110,000 tonnes. Meanwhile,
the Russian Greenland halibut fishery achieved certification in April 2020,
completing a commitment by the North West Fishing Consortium to get all its
fisheries certified. Executive Director Sergey Nesvetov described theirachievement as a “proud moment” for his organisation.

Species focus

Contents

Sustainable management is paying off for the Cornish hake fishery, recertified in
December 2020. The 15 boats in this smaller-scale fishery have increased their
total catch from 206 tonnes in 2008 to nearly 2,000 tonnes today.
tuna

oct

Fishery management,“There are generations of fishermen in our families and it’s really important for
future generations that the hake is fished sustainably,” says skipper Ryan Davey.
Notably, the fishers use larger mesh sizes than are required by law, leaving smaller
fish to swim free.
Support from Waitrose and other retailers has boosted sales of MSC certified
Cornish hake, and demand continues to grow. A recent report from NEF Consulting
showed that quayside prices for Cornish hake were 38% higher than for
non-certified Scottish hake. MSC certification also brought reputational
benefits and improved domestic market access.

1,200
800 1,000 and
600governancepolicy2020-21 5,440*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 20182019-20 3,506

crab

Ryan Davey, MSC Cornish hake fisherman from Newlyn, Cornwall, and his daughter Indi © Nigel Millard / MSC

20Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Contents

In numbers...

tonnes MSC engaged catch*18%

of global wild small pelagic catch
2020-21579,748
from MSC
engagedfisheries**

Fast growing and short lived, small pelagics underpin marine
food webs and support livelihoods from the Southern Ocean
to the North Atlantic. A new briefing from MSC in 2021, Small
Pelagic Fisheries, highlighted that certified small pelagic
fisheries have become markedly more diverse in the last five
years, and now include menhaden in the USA, sand eel andpout in the North Sea, anchovy in Cantabria and Argentina,
and sardines in Australia and Mexico.

But nearly half (46%) of small pelagic stocks are overfishedaccording to the IFFO, the trade organisation that represents
the marine ingredients industry. Their productive but shortlived nature makes them vulnerable to swift populationcrashes. To complicate matters, warming waters as a result ofclimate change are pushing many small pelagic stocks towards
the poles, causing disputes over fishing zones and quotas.
Market and consumer awareness of the challenges facingthese fish is vital to drive positive change.

Find out more about small pelagic fisheries

21

4,946,000

Small pelagics

While direct human consumption is increasing, much of the
global catch of these species is reduced to fishmeal, primarily
for the aquaculture sector. With the FAO estimating that 59%
of all fish consumed by humans will be farmed by 2030, thedemand for fish feed will continue to grow. The number of fish
oil products with the MSC label has also increased sharply overthe past decade from four in 2008 to over 500 in 2020.
Now, 21% of all MSC labelled products are made up of small
pelagic species.

Species focus

2019-20 494,898
0Whitefish

Volume of MSC labelled
400,000 600,000
sales(tonnes)^

200,000

2020-21 173,175

pelaic2019-20 224,840
0

50,000055
30Action on North East Atlantic pelagics
We needinternational
agreements tomanage fisheries
in an adaptive,
scientific way,rather thanmanaging fish
resources based on
short-term nationaland commercial
interests.
Erin Priddle, North Europe
Regional Director, MSC

Eight Atlanto-Scandian herring and blue whiting fisheries had their MSC
certification suspended in December 2020, following the 2019 suspensionof mackerel fisheries in the same region. The fisheries are jointly managed
by the EU, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and, for the first timepost-Brexit, the UK. There has been a failure to reach agreements overcatch levels and quota sharing for several years with the result that total
catches have been exceeding scientific advice – by 22% in 2020. The
collapse of Atlanto-Scandian herring stocks in the 1960s is a reminder ofthe urgent need for good management: without it we will risk the future
health of these stocks, as well as the livelihoods and socio-economic
benefits they support.
“Migratory species like Atlanto-Scandian herring do not observe nationalboundaries,” says the MSC’s North Europe Regional Director, Erin Priddle.
“We need international agreements to manage fisheries in an adaptive,
scientific way, rather than managing fish resources based on short-term
national and commercial interests.”

100,000 150,000 200,000

MSC engaged fisheries
2020-21 109,534

2019-20
72,986
Improvements
made overlast three years bycertified
20,000 40,000
60,000fisheries
80,000 100,000

13
10
6

Stock status andharvest strategy

2020-21 1,075

2019-20 319
Fishery management,

0

0

tuna

200

400

oct

governance and800 1,000
600 policy

1,200

Endangered,threatenedand2020-21
5,440
protected species
2019-20 3,506 and bycatch
Ecosystems and
1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000
habitats

crab

1*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC
Small pelagic fish shoaling**as of UN FAO data, 20182020-21 89,194^eco-labelled products largely destined for human consumption,
engaged catch2019-20
more representative
72,438 of volumes destined forfishmeal/oil and human consumption.

salmon22

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Species focus

Contents

In numbers...

Tuna2,866,000
2020-21 579,748

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

54%0

200,000

Find out more about tuna and read our
Sustainable Tuna Handbook
A shoal of swimming tuna © iStock.com / GuidoMontaldo

600,000

pelaic2019-20 224,840
0

100,000of150,000
200,000
50,000Volume
MSC labelledsales (tonnes)

Growing consumer awareness and strong support from the retail andfood-service sector have driven the growth in demand for sustainably
sourced tuna. In the past year, global brands that have made a strong
commitment to sourcing tuna from MSC certified fisheries include Edeka,
Netto, Walmart, Bumble Bee and Lidl.

In June 2020, Walmart – the largest retailer in the US – announced that by
July 2020 it was moving to source all the canned tuna in its Great Value
range from either MSC certified fisheries or from those actively working
towards certification through a time-bound fishery improvement project.
The goal, intended to deliver “affordable products in a way that helps
preserve the planet” for customers in its US stores, was originally set for
2025, but Walmart decided to increase the pace. The company is leading
positive global change, with a commitment to sourcing all its tuna fromsustainable fisheries by 2025.

400,000of global2020-21
wild tuna
catch from173,175
MSC engaged fisheries**

The rise has been swift: the proportion of the global catch engaged in the
MSC program has doubled since 2019-20. With 66 tuna fisheries now MSC
certified, over half of the global catch of major commercial tuna species iseither certified or in assessment to the MSC Fisheries Standard.

Walmart’s tuna commitment

Whitefis

2019-20 494,898

2020-21 was a year of rapid growth for certified tuna, with a 50% increase involume of MSC labelled products putting global sales on course to reach
110,000 tonnes.

Because tuna are highly migratory fish, sustainability depends on goodmanagement across international waters – not just within individual
fisheries. With our partners, we are supporting calls for the international
commissions responsible for managing tuna stocks to set robust harvest
strategies that include control measures and catch limits.

23

2020-21 109,534

tuna2019-20 72,986
00

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

86
29
200

MSC2020-21
engagedfisheries
1,075
2019-20 319

Improvements made overlast 600
three800
years1,000
by 1,200
certified fisheries

400

16
11

Fishery
management,
2020-215,440

2019-20 3,506
0governance andpolicycrab

Endangered,threatened andprotected species
and bycatch

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,0002

2020-21 89,194

Stock status andharvest strategy
2019-20 72,4380

oct

20,00040,00060,00080,000salmon100,000*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 20182020-21 48,176
2019-20 41,766

prawn

24

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

2020-21 579,748 Species focus

Contents

25

2019-20 494,898

Octopusand squid
Demand is growing for MSC certified squid and octopus from the food-service
industry and consumer markets, particularly in Asia and Southern Europe.
As of 31 March 2021, two octopus and four squid fisheries have beencertified to the MSC Standard, with several others now working towards
MSC certification, including in Indonesia and along the east coast of Africa.

In numbers...

Western Asturias octopus fisherysees benefits of certification
The artisanal octopus fishery based in
Asturias, Spain earned a price premiumof 15-25%, according to a study publishedin Marine Policy in September 2020.
Certification has also helped the fishers
access new markets in the USA, Switzerland,
Denmark and Spain, and given them more
control over sales and pricing.

South African squidSouth Africa’s Cape Hope squid jig fishery– which can contribute up to US$102 million ayear to the local economy – took a step closer
to sustainability. Part of our Fish for Good
project, the fishery has developed an action
plan in collaboration with WWF-South Africa
to address the areas where it can make
improvements measured against therequirements of the Fisheries Standard.

Southwest Indian Ocean
octopus fisheries
In October 2020, 88 people from 18 countries
attended a three-day virtual event to discusssustainable octopus fisheries in theSouthwest Indian Ocean as part of our
SWIOCeph project, which aims to support
octopus fishing communities in Kenya,
Tanzania, Zanzibar, Comoros, Seychelles,
Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius andSouth Africa to improve their sustainability.

Find out more about MSC certified
squid and octopus

0

US East Coast squid fishery achieves certification
In June 2020, a fishery covering longfin squid and Northern
shortfin squid (or Illex) caught by Seafreeze Ltd. and Sea Fresh
USA off the US East Coast, achieved certification. The fisherylanded over 35,000 tonnes in 2018.

400,000

600,000

76,0002020-21 173,175

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

0

Historically, most US shortfin squid has been sold as bait forother fisheries, though more recently it has been bought by
food-service customers around the US, Europe and Asia. Longfin
squid has predominantly served a domestic food-service market.
Two years ago, the US Northeast bottom trawl squid fisheryoperating in the same waters became the first ever to achievecertification to the MSC Standard.

200,000

2%
50,000pelaic2019-20 224,840
100,000 150,000 200,000

of global wild cephalopod catchfrom MSC engaged fisheries**

2020-21 109,534

Chris Lee, Director of Sea Fresh USA

Earning MSC certification for our Atlantic squid harvests
is an important milestone for Seafreeze. We have always
been committed to providing the highest quality, most
responsibly harvested squid available to our customers.
Our goal is to be the industry leader in the species, andthe MSC certification is a great step in that direction.
Chris Joy of Seafreeze Limitedtuna

2019-20 72,986

Volume of MSC labelled

0

20,000 sales
40,000(tonnes)
60,000 80,000 100,000

2020-21 1,075

MSC certification of longfin and Illex squid from theNorthwest Atlantic is something that customers here in
the US and overseas have been eager to see in our New
England fishery for some time. As demands on theworld’s natural resources intensify, it is important forour customer base to understand what we already knew,that these fisheries are sustainable, well-managed
US fisheries.

Whitefishoct2019-20 319
0

400

200

6
3

600

800

1,000

1,200

MSC
certified
fisheries
2020-21
5,440

crab

2019-20 3,506

0Improvements made over

three
years
1,000 2,000last
3,000
4,000
5,000bycertified fisheries

21Fishery management,

2020-21
89,194 andgovernancepolicy2019-20 72,438
0

20,00040,000salmonEndangered,
80,000 100,000
threatenedandprotected species
and bycatch

60,0002020-21 48,176
2019-20 41,766
certified,suspended
or in
assessment to MSC
0*engaged
10,000means
20,00030,00040,00050,000**as of UN FAO data, 2018

Asturias octopus fisherman, Spain © Alvaro Fuente

2020-21 43,826

prawn

0

26

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

200,000

Contents

400,000

600,000

2020-21 173,175

Species focus

27

pelaicIn numbers...

2019-20 224,840

316,000

Lobster fishing and marine protection in Tristan da Cunha0

The world’s most remote island community is showing that sustainable fishingand marine conservation can go hand in hand. In November 2020, the British
Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha – population: 245 – announced that almost
700,000km2 of its waters would become a marine protected area (MPA), the fourthlargest such sanctuary in the world and the biggest in the South Atlantic.

Craband lobster

2020-21 109,534

Crab and lobster have been part of the MSC story from the very
beginning – Western Australian rock lobster became the first everfishery to achieve MSC certification back in 2000.
This year brought certification for the rock lobster fisheryoperating around the remote island of St Paul in the southern
Indian Ocean. Two snow crab fisheries were also certified: theBarents Sea Opilio trap fishery, which holds 70% of the commercial
snow crab quota in Russian waters, and AQIP in the north of
Canada’s Gulf of St Lawrence. The Argentine red king crab also
entered full assessment.

Two Indonesian crab fisheries joined the In-Transition to MSC program this year via
our Fish for Good project (see page 8). The Madura Island blue swimming crab
fishery, which exports 90% of its catch to the US, hopes to enter MSC assessmentby the end of 2022. Over the last few years, the fishery, under the Indonesian Blue
Swimming Crab Association, has made significant efforts to improve fishingpractices, increase stock levels, protect nursery grounds and develop a communitybased management plan. Certification would be a major milestone and provide a
local example of sustainable management: blue swimming crab is one ofIndonesia’s most valuable exports, worth more than US$300 million annually. It
supports the livelihoods of at least 90,000 fishermen and 185,000 women who
prepare and process the catch.
Also joining the program is a community-based mud crab fishery in the Kei Islands,
Maluku province. Mud crabs, also known as mangrove crabs, are highly prized indomestic and international markets. The fishery is in an improvement program,supported by WWF-Indonesia, with the aim to enter full assessment by 2025.

tuna

14%

2019-20 72,986

0

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

of global wild crab and lobster catchfrom MSC engaged fisheries**
2020-21 1,075

oct2019-20 319

Volume of MSC labelled sales

0400
200 (tonnes)
600

800

1,000

1,200

2020-21 5,440

crab

2019-20 3,506

Crab fisheries working towards certification

In August 2020, the Maine lobster fishery certificate wassuspended because of concerns over the federal government’s
failure to protect North Atlantic right whales in US waters.
Whales becoming entangled in fishing lines has emerged as an
issue in recent years and had previously led to the suspensionof the southern Gulf of St Lawrence snow crab trap fishery. Bothfisheries have been working hard to make improvements to meet
the MSC Standard’s criteria on minimising impacts on endangered,threatened and protected species.
Western Australia rock lobster © Matt Watson / MSC

Find out more about how
crab fisheries are working
towards certification

100,000 150,000 200,000

tonnes MSC engaged catch*

Tristan’s rock lobster fishery, which has been MSC certified since 2011, makes up
around 80% of the archipelago’s income. Careful management has ensured themarine environment around the islands is thriving. The new MPA closes over 90%of the islands’ waters to harmful extractive activities, while allowing local people
to continue to fish sustainably.
Find out more about lobster
fishing and sustainability in
Tristan da Cunha

50,000001,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

4250

MSC engaged fisheries
2020-21 89,194

salmon2019-20
72,438
Improvements
made over

20,000last three years by
40,000 60,000
80,000 100,000
certified
fisheries

28

Endangered,threatened andprotected
species
2020-21
48,176and bycatch

11
8
3

prawn

2019-20 41,766

0Blue swimming crab is one of Indonesia’s most valuable exports,
annually worth more than

US$300 million

Fishery management,
governance and10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
policyStock status andharvest strategy
2020-21 43,826

Ecosystems and2019-20
48,171habitats

0

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2018

b

0

28

50,000100,000 150,000 200,000

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

SalmonBack in 2000, Alaska salmon became one of the first fisheries to achieve MSC
certification. Today, almost all salmon harvested in Alaska comes from MSC certified
fisheries. Five salmon species are harvested by seven different gear types across
14 diverse management areas, from the southeast near Canada to the small Native
Alaskan communities in the far northwest. More recently, there has been a growthin the number of Russian salmon fisheries engaged in the MSC program.

Species
2020-21
1,075 focus
tuna

In numbers...

580,000

365,000

00

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

58%

400

600

800

Prawn
and shrimp

1,200

1,000

of global wild salmon catch from2020-21 5,440**
MSC engaged fisheriescrab

2019-20 3,506
0of MSC
1,000 Volume2,000 3,000
4,000 labelled
5,000

salmon2019-20 72,438

0

20,00039
940,00060,00080,000100,000

MSC engaged fisheries
2020-21 48,176

Improvements
2019-20 41,766 made overlast three years bycertified fisheries

prawn

3

Endangered,threatened andprotected species
bycatch2020-21 and
43,826
2019-20
48,171Stockstatus andharvest strategy

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

Fishery management,
governance andpolicyDespite their small size, thesecrustaceans play a big role in cuisines,
cultures and ecosystems all over theworld. From cold-water prawns in the
Arctic to tropical seabob shrimp in the
Caribbean, fisheries have madesignificant efforts to improve theirsustainability, from reducing bycatch
to using lighter gear that minimises
damage to the seabed.

Continued commitment
in Australia

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

3
3

800

1,000

bivalves

Over half of all the prawns caught inAustralia come from an MSC certified
fishery. Two fisheries off Western
Australia – the Exmouth Gulf andShark Bay prawn fisheries – wererecertified with no conditions in
December 2020. Both had madeimprovements since their firstcertification in 2015, ranging from
improving habitat mapping to getting
better information on bycatch rates.

The Shark Bay fishery – which
adjoins an ocean wilderness withWorld Heritage status – also
introduced a training programfor crews on safely handling andreleasing sea snakes.
The two fisheries were recertified
just in time for Christmas, Australia’s
peak prawn-eating season. Onceagain, the MSC and partners ran amarketing campaign promoting
sustainable prawns over the festive
season. This included AU$1 million(US$769,000) worth of digitaladvertising on thousands of screensin 97% of gyms and 40 shopping
centres across Australia, sponsoredby retailer Coles. We also gained
TV coverage and features in thenational press, as well as YouTube
ads and millions of impressions
on social media, with influencers
sharing our sustainable prawn andlobster recipes.

*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2018Freshly caught brown shrimp from the North Sea brown shrimp fishery © MSC / Saskia Lelieveld

oct

1,200

crab

11%

0

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000of global wild prawn and shrimp catch
2020-21
89,194**from MSC engaged
fisheries

salmon2019-20 72,438
0sales (tonnes)

2020-21 89,194

0600

tonnes
MSC engaged catch*2019-20 3,506

oct2019-20 319

200

400

200

2020-21 5,440

2020-21
1,075*
tonnes MSC engaged
catch

0

29

2019-20 319

2019-20 72,986
In numbers...

0

Fisherwoman Emily Taylor with salmon catch from Alaska salmon fishery in Bristol Bay © Kendall Rock

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

Contents

2020-21 109,534

Sustainable salmon leap in Kamchatka
Salmon is central to the culture, economy and wild nature of the Kamchatka
peninsula in the Russian Far East. The Ozernaya River sockeye salmon fishery was
the first fishery in Kamchatka to achieve certification back in 2012, and several more
have followed since. July 2020 brought a big leap forward, as 12 large fisheries on
Kamchatka’s western and eastern coasts successfully completed the assessment of
their pink, chum and sockeye salmon. With the new certifications, the total numberof Kamchatka salmon fisheries meeting the MSC Standard increased to 29.
Together, these certified fisheries account for almost three-quarters of the region’s
yield, which fluctuates between 300,000 and 500,000 tonnes of salmon annually.

0

Volumeof MSC labelled
40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000
sales (tonnes)

20,0002020-21 48,176

prawn

2019-20 41,766
0

0

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

47
43

MSC engaged fisheries
2020-21 43,826

Improvements
made over
2019-20 48,171
last three years bycertified fisheries
10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
Ecosystems andhabitats

18
11
9
5

Endangered,threatened andprotected species
and bycatch
Stock status andharvest strategy
Fishery management,
governance andpolicy*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2018b

2020-21 5,440

30

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Bivalves
20 years up for Burry Inlet cockles
The first bivalve mollusc fishery in the world to achieve MSC certification – the UK’s
Burry Inlet cockles – celebrated its 20th anniversary of certification this year. Usinga technique that has changed little since Roman times, some 50 licensed gatherers
rake the cockles from the mud at low tide then sieve out the larger ones. Fisherysurveys are carried out twice a year to determine harvest levels, ensuring enoughcockles are left to breed and as food for the birds that visit the estuary.

South African mussels
An Ocean Stewardship Fund grant awarded in April 2020 is supporting therope-grown mussel fishery in Saldanha Bay, South Africa to become moresustainable. Mussel growers in the bay have been making improvements towards
the MSC Fisheries Standard since 2018, as part of our Fish for Good project, andare hoping to achieve certification by 2023.

Species focus

2020-21 89,194

18%
20,00040,00060,00080,000

1,195

salmon2019-20
72,438tonnes MSC
engagedcatch*
0

tonnes of ASC-MSC engaged seaweed*

100,000of global wild 2020-21
bivalve48,176
catch from
MSC engaged fisheries**

17

prawn

engaged farms

2019-20 41,766

0Seaweed

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

Volume of MSC labelledsales (tonnes)
2020-21 43,826
2019-20 48,171

0

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

56
22

MSC engaged fisheries
Improvements made overlast three years bycertified fisheries

13
5

31

In numbers...

417,000

2
2
Bag of MSC certified mussels

crab

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000
In0 numbers...

MSC certified bivalves at Waitrose
British bivalve producers have been hit hard by Brexit, due to a combination ofcomplex export processes and UK waters failing to meet EU standards. Lockdowns
have also shut down high-end restaurant markets. But the Dorset Shellfish Company
managed to buck the trend, reaching an agreement with Waitrose to sell the MSC
certified clams and cockles it sources from Poole Harbour on fresh counters at 150
stores. At the fishery, Poole Harbour's clam and cockle fishers are working withconservationists to reduce impacts on other species within this marine protectedarea thanks to a grant from the Ocean Stewardship Fund.

Contents

2019-20 3,506

Fishery management,
governance andpolicyEndangered,threatened andprotected species
and bycatch
Ecosystems andhabitats
Stock status andharvest strategy*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment to MSC**as of UN FAO data, 2018

bivalves

The joint ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard provides verification of sustainable
and socially responsible seaweed production, at a time that the global
market in seaweed is growing rapidly.
In South Korea, seaweed for human consumption has been in thesustainability spotlight. The first ever certified wakame products,
produced by Gijang Mulsang, went on sale to consumers in September
2020, while in November the Wando Eco-Friendly Seafood Cooperative(WESC) became only the third producer in the world to attain certification
to the ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard. Farming the traditional diet staples
of kelp and hiziki, WESC is targeting its certified seaweed products atdomestic retailers.
In January, Dutch biotech company Veramaris became the first producerof microalgae oil for fish feed to achieve the joint certification. Veramaris
produces Omega-3 oil from microalgae at a land-based facility in the US,
which is used to supplement feed for farmed fish.
The majority of Omega-3 for aquaculture is sourced from wild stocksof small pelagic fish, which are under increasing pressure. As theaquaculture sector continues to grow it is vital that feed is sustainably
sourced. Veramaris’ certified oil can supply 15% of the global Omega-3
requirements for salmon farms.

Korean perilla seafood soup © iStock.com / GEOLEE

After a lot of hard work,
we are now very satisfied
that we are following thisglobal standard, which has
encouraged us to think about
our environmental impact
and the true value of seaweed
products. The market for
responsible seafood is young
and has a lot of potential,
so it was well worth engaging
with and demonstrating
our good practices. We willcontinuously update ourpractices to maintainthe certificate.
Woo Hyun-Kyu, Director of Marketing at WESC

Find out more aboutsustainable and socially
responsible seaweed*engaged means certified, suspended or in assessment.

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Campaign highlights

Contents

33

Campaign highlights

Sustainable pollock tofu soup © Olivia

World Ocean Day
We held our global World Ocean
Day campaign on 8 June 2020,
spreading the “Little Blue Label.
Big Blue Future” message.
Uptake was impressive, withan estimated 20 million peopleviewing the campaign video on
traditional and streamed TV,
and over 500 press articles. We
achieved strong results online
with 4 million views of theentire video attracting 77,000
website visitors during the
campaign period. We engaged
82 ambassadors worldwide,
supported by 159 social
influencers, and 192 commercial
and 43 non-commercial partners
who campaigned with us across
23 countries.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
supports Te Kawa O Tangaroa

Choon-taek Kwon, the secretary general of
UN Global Compact Network Korea

Seas Forever Week campaign visual

Influencers help
reach millions

Healthy Heart,
Happy Ocean

Shikaruneko
collaborates with MSC

Educating the next
generation

New insights on
global food supply

UN Global Compact
Network Korea

First Spanish Seas
Forever Week

In China we launched two
successful campaigns thisyear using KOL marketing.
KOL, or key opinion leaders, isa type of influencer marketing
popular in China. We invited
six KOLs with audiences
ranging from young people
to mothers, fitness gurusand healthy lifestyle lovers
across China. The campaigns
encouraged the KOLs to sharesustainable seafood recipes
with their online following,
using only MSC certified
seafood. More than 40
sustainable seafood recipes
were launched via social
media platforms including
Sina Weibo, WeChat, Sohu,
Douguo, Xiachufang and Little
Red Book.

In South Africa, during
Heart Awareness Month in
September and National
Marine Month in October,
we launched a successful
campaign in partnershipwith the Heart and Stroke
Foundation South Africa(HSFSA). The campaign
encouraged South Africans tochoose seafood “that’s goodfor you and the ocean too”.
The HSFSA’s Heart Mark logo
is often seen next to the MSC
blue fish label on seafood
products, guiding consumers
to make both healthier andsustainable choices. A host ofsustainable seafood recipes
were shared that feature both
the MSC ecolabel and theHeart Mark.

In Japan, we created avideo with popular Twittercharacter Shikaruneko or “thescolding cat”. In the video,
Shikaruneko explains what
the MSC ecolabel means andthe importance of choosing
sustainable seafood. The
video clocked up over a
million views by the end of
the campaign as Twitter users
shared it for the chance towin prizes from our partners
McDonald’s Japan, Aeon,
Maruha Nichiro, Japanese
Consumers’ Co-operative
Union and Nippon Suisan.

In March 2021, we announced
a new education partnershipwith the National Aquariumof New Zealand – set to reachhundreds of schools acrossthe country. At the launch
event at the aquarium inNapier, Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern showed her support asshe spoke of the importanceof every child receiving an
education on how to care forour oceans. The partnershiphelps to promote new MSC
education resources forteachers and learners in anine-topic series called
Te Kawa O Tangaroa –Ocean-centred learning.

Seafood is a key source ofnutrients and protein andplays a vital role in the dietsof many. In January 2021,
we published a MSC
Insights Brief which detailed
that the world is missing out
on enough protein to meetthe yearly needs of 72
million people because ofoverfishing. If all fishing wassustainable, it would provide
enough additional protein fora population the size of the
UK and Ireland combined.

In South Korea, we signed
a memorandum with the UN
Global Compact Network
Korea to encourage Koreanbusinesses to contribute to
the SDGs. This included acampaign called “Pledge toParticipate in Sustainable
Oceans and Responsible
Seafood Consumption”,
focusing on SDG 12(Sustainable Consumption
and Production) and SDG 14(Life Below Water). Partners
involved in the pledge include
the first hotel in South
Korea to achieve MSC chainof custody certification:
Conrad Seoul hotel madea commitment in 2021 tosource 25% of its wild-caught
seafood as MSC certified
by 2022.

Almost 60 organisations
joined in the celebrations for
our first “Semana Mares Para
Siempre” or “Seas ForeverWeek” held during February
2021. This included several
events such as a scientificforum on climate change,
involving speakers fromthe FAO, local government
and universities. Attendees
discussed the link between
sustainable fishing and SDG
14 (Life Below Water) and SDG
13 (Climate Action), concludingthat sustainable fishing canhelp counteract the effects
of climate change. We also
conducted education outreachwith more than 100 students
on the topic.

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

Our funding and donors
This year we would especially like tothank the many donors, including trusts,
foundations and statutory bodies, fromacross the globe that have supported
our work. We received significant andnew generous support from the Mava
Fondation pour la Nature for our Project
MedPath work helping small-scale
fisheries in the Mediterranean, as well as
the A.G. Leventis Foundation for work in
Greece, and the David and Lucile Packard
Foundation for our East Asia Sea Pathway
to Sustainability project.

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

We would also like to thank the Dutch
Postcode Lottery for its continued supportof the Fish for Good project in Indonesia,
Mexico and South Africa, as well as
ongoing core support; the Walton Family
Foundation for its continuing generous
support for projects around the world;
the Adessium Foundation for supporting
our work in the Mediterranean;
WWF-Sweden for its support for our
project in the Southwest Indian Ocean
region; and the Remmer Foundation for a
grant to work with small-scale fisheries insouthern Africa.

Vowles Family Fund

Finally, we also continue to receive
generous core support from the Triad
Foundation, Holzer Family Foundation
and Vowles Family Fund, for which weare truly grateful.

US Foundations

NGOs

David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Resources Legacy Fund / Sustainable
Fisheries Fund

Walton Family Foundation
New Venture Fund
Remmer Family Foundation
Triad Foundation
Holzer Family Foundation

Our funding and finances

Contents

Our finances���� -��

WWF-Sweden
WWF-UK (for Project UK)

Report by theTrustees on thesummarised
financial statements

Total
incomeTotal
expenditure£30.1 million£27.2 million

Corporate
Findus (Sweden)
Project UK (various)

UK Trusts and Foundations
A.G. Leventis Foundation

Where the money comes from
11.5% Donations and legacies
2.0%

European Foundations
Adessium Foundation (Netherlands)
Dutch Postcode Lottery
MAVA Fondation Pour la Nature (Switzerland)

Other trading activities

85.1% Income from charitable		
activities (logo licensing)
1.4%

Income from investments

35

Where the money goes to20.0% Policy and maintenance of Standard
31.7% Education and awareness	
37.0% Commercial and fisheries 		
servicing and outreach
6.9%

Logo licensing

2.7%

Ocean Stewardship Fund

1.7% 	Expenditure on raising funds

Total funds at 31 March 2021: £38.8 million

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 27 July 2021.
An unqualified audit report was issued inrelation to the full statutory trustees’ annual
report and financial statements by our
auditors Crowe U.K. LLP on 6 August 2021.
The auditors have confirmed to thetrustees that, in their opinion, thesummarised financial informationis consistent with the full financial
statements for the year ended 31 March
2021. This summarised financial
information may not contain sufficient
information to gain a complete
understanding of the financial affairsof 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:

Compared with total funds of £32.8 million on 31 March 2020
Other gains and losses in the year not shown under income or expenditure
amounted to a gain of £3.1 million

Werner Kiene,
Chair, MSC Board of Trustees

6 August 2021

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Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

GovernanceContents

Our vision is of the world’s

oceans teeming with life, andseafood supplies safeguarded
for this and future generations.

Our mission is to use

our ecolabel and fisherycertification program tocontribute to the health of theworld’s oceans by recognisingand rewarding sustainablefishing practices, influencing
the choices people make whenbuying seafood and working
with our partners to transformthe seafood market to asustainable basis.

Governance���� -��

The MSC Board of Trustees
The MSC Board of Trustees is the MSC’s governing body.
With advice from the Technical Advisory Board and the
Stakeholder Advisory Council, it sets the strategic directionof 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
Ms Stefanie Moreland
Co-Chair, Stakeholder
Advisory Council

Welcome to new members:
Mr Stuart GreenDr Kevin Stokes
Dr Christopher Zimmermann
Chair, Technical Advisory
Board
Thank you to
departing members:

Mr Eric Barratt

Dr Simon Jennings
Chair, Technical Advisory
Board

Mr Giles Bolton

Mr Jean-Jacques MaguireMs Maria Damanaki
Mr Jim Leape
Mr David Lock

A Cornish sardine fishing boat

37

38

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

The TechnicalAdvisory Board
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 Christopher
Zimmermann(Germany) Chair
Mr Adam Swan
(UK)
Dr Tim Essington(USA)
Ms Lucia Mayer
Massaroth(Germany)
Dr Keith Sainsbury(Australia)
Dr Victor Restrepo(USA)

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

GovernanceContents

Ms Michèle Stark(Switzerland)

Thank you to
departing members:

Dr Florian Baumann(Germany)

Dr Simon Jennings

Mr Sergey Sennikov(Russia)
Dr Rebecca Lent
(USA) (Co-opted
Member)Mr José Augusto Pinto
de Abreu(Brazil) (Co-opted
Member)Ms Kerry Smith(Australia) (Co-opted
Member)

Mr Alex Olsen
Dr Juan Carlos Seijo

The MSC Stakeholder
Advisory Council
The MSC’s Stakeholder Advisory Council
provides advice to the MSC Board ofTrustees and input into the MSC’sreview processes and provides aformal body through which stakeholders
can provide their views to the MSC.
It includes representatives fromthe seafood industry, conservation
community, market sector andacademia. The membership reflects
diverse experiences, geographies,
and interests in relation to the workof the MSC.

Ms Amanda Nickson
Co-Chair, The Pew
Charitable Trusts, USA
Ms Stefanie Moreland
Co-Chair, Trident
Seafoods, USA
Mr 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 Agathe Grossmith
Carrefour, France

39

Mr Marco Quesada
Conservación
Internacional, Costa Rica

Ms Yumie Kawashima
Aeon, Japan

Ms Carmen Revenga
The Nature Conservancy,
USA

Mr Tor Larsen
Norwegian Fishermen’s
Association, Norway

Ms María José Espinosa
RomeroCommunidad y
Biodiversidad A.C(COBI), Mexico

Dr Ghislaine Llewellyn
WWF International,
Australia
Ms Christine Penney
Clearwater Seafoods,
CanadaThank you to
departing members:

Mr Ivan Lopez Pesquera
Ancora, Spain

Mr Peter Trott

Mr Paul Uys
MSCI Chair
Dr Werner Kiene
MSC Board of Trustees
Chair
Mr Eric Barratt
Ms Valentina Tripp
Mr Jeff Davis
Mr Rupert Howes
MSC Chief Executive
Membership is correct as of 31 March 2021

40

Marine Stewardship Council Annual Report 2020-21

41

Contents

The MSC would not be where it
is today without its exceptional
network of staff operating in morethan 20 countries. Covid-19 has madethis year particularly challenging
for us all. MSC staff have worked
exceptionally hard to adapt andmaintain our program. Not only
have they embraced working
remotely, they have also revisedplans to deliver communications,
events, outreach and standards
oversight through new digital tools
and platforms. The MSC’s Board andexecutive team would like to express
our huge gratitude to all our staff.
Your efforts over the past year are
helping to sustain seafood supplies
and healthy oceans for the future.
Thank you.
Rupert Howes, Chief Executive,
Marine Stewardship Council
Seawork factory workers (from left to right) Hendrina Ndemuweda, Helena Tobias and Ndahafa Hamukwaya processing hake products from the certified Namibian hake fishery;
Namibia's fishing industry employs over 10,000 people, with the largest proportion being women working on-shore in fish processing plants.

Contents

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All data in this report is correct as of 31 March 2021, unless otherwise stated. The reporting year
is 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.
Registered Charity number: 1066806. Registered Company number: 3322023© Marine Stewardship Council 2021