In 2009
Greenpeace published a comprehensive assessment of the MSC. Overall the report states several positive effects, but also many aspects that make the MSC a weak certification.
Jared Diamond's 2005 book
Collapse discussed MSC and the similar
Forest Stewardship Council as good examples of collaboration among
environmentalists and businesses for a
sustainable economy.
Andrew Balmford's book
Wild Hope devotes a chapter to the MSC as a successful strategy for achieving conservation goals through a collaborative, market-based solution. Critics claim that the MSC has certified fisheries that are harming the environment and those with a high level of bycatch, the killing of non-target species such as dolphins and turtles. These concerns are furthered by the fact that the industry pays the MSC to be certified, which is presented as a conflict of interest. In addition, there is no guarantee that the seafood is ethical, as animal welfare is not considered and suffocation is still the standard slaughter method for fish, who possess not only the ability to feel
pain but emotions and sentience. Since 2009, the MSC has been criticized for certifying fisheries that have, in the view of some, questionable sustainability. The most controversial certification has been that of the
Ross Sea Antarctic toothfish fishery. Some scientists and stakeholders in the seafood industry consider the fishery "exploratory", since so little is known about it. However toothfish has been fished commercially for over 30 years and the fishery has been closely managed by
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources since 1982. Scientists had accused the assessor, which recommended the fishery for certification, of ignoring unfavorable data. The independent adjudicator later sent back the recommendation for certification to the assessor for reconsideration. Fishing pressure on krill is very low – less than 1% of estimated biomass - and the management rules established by CCAMLR ensure fishing activities minimise risks to the krill population or other species. In early 2010, the MSC was criticised by environmental groups like the
Sierra Club for certifying the
British Columbia sockeye salmon fishery when stocks in the
Fraser River (a part of the fishery) had been in decline since the early 1990s. The year before, the
salmon run of the Fraser River (a part of the fishery) was only 1.4 million (M) of a predicted 11 M salmon and had prompted the
Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper to launch a judicial enquiry. The 2010 run was 30 M and the 2011 run is estimated to be greater than 4 M. The Fraser Sockeye 2010 think tank at
Simon Fraser University stated that the large 2010 run was due mainly to the cyclical peak of fish from the
Adams River and that returns were high only for a subset of
tributaries. However, it stated that "the large unresolved uncertainties […] highlight our collective uncertainty about the relative roles of climate change, aquaculture, and fisheries management in determining salmon returns". In February 2011, several European
WWF chapters objected to certification of the Denmark
North Sea plaice fishery. The concerns raised were taken into account and the fishery concerned implemented a habitat strategy to ensure enhanced
protection of vulnerable habitats through measures such as closed areas, gear modifications, technical developments and targeted research. However, in an independent study of seven different seafood ecolabelling and certification programs, commissioned by WWF International and carried out by Accenture Development Partnerships in 2009, the MSC ranked highest across all 103 criteria. The study was repeated in 2012 and the MSC again was determined ‘best in class’, scoring twice as highly as the next nearest certification program analysed. Some scientists like
Sidney Holt and
Daniel Pauly have suggested that a system where assessments are carried out by commercial contractors paid by the fisheries creates a
conflict of interest because assessors have a financial incentive in recommending fisheries and getting more work and profits from the resulting annual audits. In late 2016
The Times and SeafoodSource reported that a leaked internal WWF document concluded that because the MSC receives royalties from licensing its ecolabel (providing 75% of the organisation's revenue) there is a
conflict of interest and it has relaxed its sustainability requirements, enabling more products to carry its label, thereby increasing its own income. The WWF writes in the report that "[the MSC] aggressively pursued global scale growth" and "has begun to reap very large sums from the fishing industry,". MSC Science and Standards Director David Agnew denied any conflict of interest and called the claims unsubstantiated. The WWF stated after the leak that the document was "a draft version of an internal document" and that "While the document was inappropriately distributed, it reflects WWF’s understanding of ongoing challenges in tuna fisheries certification in the Indian Ocean over the past five years.". In 2018 Open Seas and the
National Trust for Scotland formally objected to MSC certified scallop dredging practices. The 2021 documentary
Seaspiracy was critical of the Marine Stewardship Council, arguing it offers a false sense of assurance to consumers about the products possessing the MSC label. It cited close ties to the fishing industry and weak and ineffective certification processes. ==See also==