February 5, 2020 — As NGOs and industry come together to issue a joint letter to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) asking for urgent action on shark finning, the MSC told Undercurrent News it is moving rapidly to act on this.
Tim Davies, head of fishery standards for MSC, said the organization was committed to playing its part in “eliminating the abhorrent practice” of shark finning.
It is already prohibited by the MSC fisheries standard, with a “fins naturally attached policy one of the options for certified fisheries” to demonstrate shark finning is not taking place. Alternatively, fisheries can show there is strong regulation, documentation and external validation in place, he said.
“Since these requirements were introduced in 2013, we’ve seen certified fisheries deliver significant improvements to eliminate shark finning. However, we recognize there have been inconsistencies in the application of our requirements. As a result, two separate reviews are underway to provide greater certainty shark finning is not taking place within MSC certified fisheries,” he said.