January 25, 2019 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)’s board of trustees has confirmed a list of 16 topics that will be reviewed in the next stage of its fisheries standard review.
In addition to the topics to be included in the standard review, the MSC board has approved topics for more immediate public consultation. These include a consultation on shark finning as part of the MSC’s scope requirements in early March 2019, concluding in early 2020.
The full standard review list incorporates feedback received from numerous stakeholders and includes consideration of the MSC’s requirements for ghost gear, low trophic species, shark finning and endangered threatened and protected (ETP) species, it said. It also covers topics relating to the accessibility of the MSC program to small scale, squid, crab and octopus fisheries.
“The next stage in the MSC fisheries standard review will be an in-depth analysis of all topics agreed for review,” said Rupert Howes, MSC CEO. “Over the next year, the MSC will work alongside stakeholders to harness their expertise and experience to identify potential updates to the standard. This is an opportunity for stakeholders to inform the future development of the standard. We encourage anyone with knowledge or an interest in these areas to get in touch.”