Marine Stewardship Council

The Marine Stewardship Council is an international nonprofit that sets standards for sustainable fishing and certifies eligible fisheries and seafood products.

MSC Fisheries Standard: The Marine Stewardship Council standard used to assess whether wild-capture fisheries are sustainable and well managed. It defines the ecological and management requirements fisheries must meet for certification.
Seafood traceability: The ability to track seafood through harvesting, processing, distribution, and sale. Traceability supports the council's chain-of-custody certification and label claims.
Friend of the Sea: An international seafood certification program covering wild fisheries and aquaculture. It offers a competing certification scheme with different standards and assessment procedures.
Marine Stewardship Council blue tick: The blue fish-and-checkmark symbol used on eligible products certified under the Marine Stewardship Council program. The mark turns a technical certification into a recognizable retail signal.
MSC Chain of Custody Standard: The Marine Stewardship Council standard for tracing certified seafood through supply chains. It keeps certified products identifiable after they leave the fishery.
Sustainable seafood: Seafood harvested or farmed with attention to ecological effects and long-term resource viability. The council's certification is one way seafood is identified as sustainable.
Aquaculture Stewardship Council: A nonprofit that certifies aquaculture products against environmental and social standards. Its focus on farmed seafood contrasts with the MSC's wild-capture fishery program.
Sustainable fisheries: Fisheries managed to maintain fish populations and reduce harmful ecological effects over time. The council's stated purpose is to encourage fishing practices consistent with this outcome.
Fishery certification: A formal assessment of a fishery against specified environmental and management requirements. The council's central program applies this process to wild-capture fisheries.
Fisheries management: The rules and practices used to conserve fish populations and regulate fishing activity. Fishery certification evaluates whether management can sustain stocks and limit environmental harm.

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