Responsible Fishing Practices in High Country


Responsible fishing practices help the ocean thrive while feeding billions of people, which means harvesting at a pace which allows its population to replenish itself.

Many fishers find themselves trapped in social-ecological traps due to inadequate access to capital assets, market shocks and governance structures.

Aquaculture Stewardship Council

Responsible stewardship of fisheries is an integral component of keeping wild fish stocks healthy. One way this is accomplished is through monitoring fishing gear’s impact on essential habitat and ecological processes, or working with non-governmental organizations like the Marine Stewardship Council that promote sustainable seafood, such as certification. Furthermore, MSC works to educate consumers and encourage sustainable choices – it even offers DNA testing so consumers know they are buying what is on the label!

Though the MSC’s efforts are commendable, there remains much illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity in international waters. This form of overfishing contributes significantly to overfishing. To combat IUU fishing and overfishing issues effectively, no-take zones and marine reserves were introduced by MSC to address this problem; additionally all fishermen must report their catches through logbooks submitted as well as creating an identification and tracking system that will track fishing boats that operate internationally.

As part of their response to this crisis, several companies are adopting sustainable supply chain practices. IKEA recently made headlines when it announced it will source all its seafood from ASC-certified farms; this initiative will protect ocean life while providing healthy supplies of seafood for generations to come.

Even with this progress, however, certified seafood remains difficult to come by in the market due to ASC certification standards being too costly and burdensome for smaller farms to comply with. Furthermore, ASC has recently been accused of overlooking human rights abuses at Chinese salmon processing plants it certifies.

Though there are numerous sustainable seafood labels, ASC stands as the world’s premier certification and labeling program for aquaculture. Their rigorous standard includes principles and requirements related to water quality, feed safety, animal welfare, community engagement and community involvement. Furthermore, an extensive network of independent observers monitor farms and verify reports while ASC also features an impact dashboard which enables businesses and consumers to compare the environmental, social and economic impacts associated with seafood products easily.

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Marine Stewardship Council

As global populations increase, seafood has become an indispensable source of protein. But to ensure we consume sustainable fisheries that don’t harm the environment, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sets standards that fisheries must follow, awarding certificates when they achieve them and working to encourage consumers to choose responsible seafood sources.

The MSC certification process is rigorous, demanding that all participants in the seafood supply chain demonstrate responsible management and traceability – including fishers, producers, distributors, retailers and restaurants – within its standards to help prevent depletion of wild fish populations, maintain water quality and preserve habitats. NSF Certification LLC serves as an accredited MSC certifier to assist fisheries meet this chain-of-custody standard while verifying for customers that their seafood is MSC certified.

Many fisheries have already achieved MSC certification, which indicates they use best practices to sustainably manage their resources. Some still need to improve their management techniques; the MSC has recently come under criticism for certifying Ross Sea Antarctic toothfish fishery which some scientists deem unsustainable; this criticism prompted it to revisit fishery improvement projects and reconsider certification projects.

An increasing number of consumers prefer seafood certified by an independent third-party as sustainable. The MSC’s ecolabel is recognized by ISEAL, the global membership association for sustainability standards; and its certification program meets best practice requirements set forth by UN Food and Agriculture Organization and ISEAL. Furthermore, MSC promotes a voluntary code of conduct among retailers and suppliers in seafood supply chains.

Small-scale fisheries are the backbone of the seafood industry and play an essential role in providing food security, employment and income to local communities. Utilizing selective fishing methods with low environmental impacts, small-scale fisheries use selective fishing to harvest a limited variety of species with minimum impact to marine environments; yet their communities often face socioeconomic obstacles including low human, financial, natural capital assets; poor governance practices; lack of clear pathways towards sustainability etc.

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Fisheries Innovation Scotland

Sustainability in marine ecosystem management is one of the core goals of the seafood industry. This requires maintaining healthy populations of target species while decreasing non-target fish caught, or bycatch, so as to preserve our planet’s sustainability for future generations. To achieve this goal, fishermen must comply with stringent regulations; setting quotas or license limits may be implemented as necessary, and employing equipment which reduces bycatch and habitat damage in fishing operations – plus communicate effectively with national and international governments/markets on sustainability efforts.

The seafood industry is an invaluable global supply chain that provides jobs and income to millions of people around the globe. It plays a crucial role in meeting increasing population levels and climate change challenges while supporting sustainable practices which ensure its future for all communities, such as coastal dwellers who rely heavily on seafood as an income source. Unfortunately, though, overfishing threatens our oceans’ health, potentially leading to over-exploitation which threatens global fisheries and endangers coastal communities living by them.

To combat this issue, the European Union has developed a sustainable fisheries policy. Their goal is to promote responsible fishing by preventing overfishing and creating conservation measures – including limiting catch limits, restricting gear that create high bycatch rates and closing feeding, breeding and spawning grounds – all designed to preserve marine biodiversity and ensure its preservation.

Fisheries Innovation Scotland (FIS) in the United Kingdom is an association of experts driving innovation for a more prosperous and sustainable seafood industry in Britain. FIS is a not-for-profit organization with members comprised of processors, suppliers and fishermen; John Goodlad chairs their board of directors as Chairman of Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group/Shetland Catch. Other members include M&S, Sainsbury’s Young’s Seafood as well as The Fishmongers’ Company.

FIS has collaborated with commercial fishermen to develop Smartrawl technology which will eliminate wasteful and illegal fish discards. Using stereo cameras and an AI computer to collect images of catch, this system will allow skippers to only keep target fish.

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MCA

The ocean provides food and livelihoods to millions of people around the world, but also contributes to global climate change. Human activity has damaged marine ecosystems and increased disease outbreak risks; acidified seawater; altered the geographic distribution ranges of several key fish species – these changes affect 500 million small-scale fishing communities who depend on healthy fish populations for survival and well-being.

Poor fisheries management and global inequities in access, compounded with impacts from pollution, ecosystem degradation and climate change have put marine fish stocks and fishing livelihoods at risk, necessitating an integrated approach to ocean and coastal management.

Supplying fishers and fishermen with access to information, training, and support is vital in helping them improve their fishery practices and create more resilient fisheries and communities. This may involve supporting small-scale fishermen in creating social protection schemes or improving registration and information reporting by fishers; increasing transparency within the sector through implementation of fishery improvement partnerships or certification programs can also contribute.

As part of sustainable fishing practices, another way to ensure their adoption is by using gear that has minimal impacts on natural habitats, biodiversity and the seabed or surrounding waters. This can be accomplished through setting catch limits or marine reserves for vulnerable species that allow their recovery; or by introducing new technologies and decreasing discards.

Monitoring fish and shellfish stocks, their habitats and overexploitation is crucial in order to safeguard biodiversity, conservation and fishery goals. A network of marine reserves could serve this purpose effectively while adaptive management strategies could ensure goals such as these are met.

Finally, it is vitally important to address IUU fishing (illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing). This can be achieved through improved enforcement measures, improved monitoring systems and ensuring that fishery management practices adhere to sound science. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if products could display labels certifying they come from sustainable sources.