MSC

In June Spanish consumers were able to buy the first tins of tuna bearing the AENOR Conform Responsibly Fished Tuna logofrom Spanish distributors shelves. The seal affirms to consumers that the product comes from a sustainable, socially responsible source. The certification logo only goes on products containing tuna fished by vessels certified under the Responsibly Fished Tuna Standard and belonging to a Comprehensive Fishery Improvement Program (FIP). The FIP ensures that vessels and their crews maintain the highest standards in environmental conservation. This certificate guarantees that the fish which distributors are marketing and consumers are eating have been caught by companies and vessels held to social, labor and maritime safety standards above what the law currently requires.

Polskie Stowarzyszenie Przetwórców Ryb (PSPR), the Polish Association of Fish Processors, has expressed concerns with the current Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process in an open letter from the organization’s president, Jerzy Safader. The origin of PSPR’s grievances with MSC certification occurred in January 2015 when the eastern Baltic cod (the main stack targeted by the Polish fleet) paid EUR 60,000 for MSC certification, only for the certificate to be suspended in December that year. The EUR 60,000 was never paid back, inciting fury amongst many of the processors.  Frustration with the lost money and miscommunication between the MSC representatives and Polish fish processors, however, is not the only topic of concern PSPR has raised with MSC certification.  The Polish fish processors also argue the costs of acquiring MSC certification are unfairly placed entirely on processors and that the certification is an ineffectual means of ensuring sustainable fisheries.   The PSPR argues MSC certification is not actually voluntary, and it is a barrier to the market if producers do not have the certificate. Most retailers demand processors have MSC certification, yet they play no role in bearing the cost of acquiring the credential. PSPR contends that if MSC certificates are to remain the standard of verifying sustainability throughout Europe then the cost should be shared amongst each participant in the chain of production, not just fish processors. The cost after all is not insignificant. Certification can reduce profitability of a company by as much as 11% thanks to the cost of logo and fees incurred.

Organización de Productores Asociados de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores (OPAGAC) is an association of nine frozen tuna seiner fishing shipowners.…