C.O.A.S.T.'s vice-chair Sally Campbell looks behind MSC-accreditation and explores some of the emerging
problems with our new hunger for ‘sustainable’ labelling.

We have all seen the signs in big supermarkets proclaiming their products are “RSPCA FREEDOM FOOD.”
The blue label of the Marine Stewardship Council is also gaining common currency. These eco-labels are a
selling point for retailers, appealing to the consciences of food shoppers.

But what happens when we peel away the eco-label and examine the ‘food’ inside the packet in more detail?
The supermarket Morrison’s proudly announces that all of its fish “are 100% sustainable,” but what does this mean
exactly?
Among the fish stocked in Morrison stores is Cape Hake from a fishery that has just been re-certified even though it is
in a collapsed state.

It underlines a real concern that many of the MSC eco-certified fish are not necessarily from sustainable ecosystems.
Certifiers are accredited by Accreditation Services International GmbH (ASI) to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
Accreditation requirements. Companies such as Moody Marine Ltd and MRAG Americas, Inc can certify that fisheries
meet the MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing and these organisations duly undertake a programmed
check on those fisheries wishing to have the Blue Label from MSC.  It was following such a review by a these external
organisations that the Cape Hake was re-certified, and the collapsed state of the fishery was even pointed out by the
independent reviewer of the certification.

Nevertheless, since August 2009 there have been over 100 fisheries undergoing certification to MSC standards.
So many that it makes me wonder what on earth is going on? Sadly, I realise this is market driven now, rather than
a total concern for our marine environment. Many of these fisheries are in collapsing ecosystems, something which
the MSC does not appear to take properly into account. Marine ecosystems are complex and the fishing of one
specieshas an impact all the way along the food chain. If we harvest Antarctic krill (euphausiids) to supply the
nutraceutical andaquaculture industries, then as sure as eggs are eggs this will in time affect the rest of the
ecosystem, which includes iconic species as baleen whales, seals, rays and Antarctic sea birds.

This would in my mind put such species out of any certification, but in a depressing and short-sighted decision by an
Independent Adjudicator, Aker Biomarine’s application for MSC certification of the Antarctic krill fishery was
recently accredited.
(So next time you see the MSC label on omega-3 pills in your local health food shop, think of Antarctica...)

So how did this come about? The Marine Stewardship Council was founded in 1997 and is an independent
non-profit making organisation with a mission to “reward sustainable fishing practices” with 3 principles to consider:

1. The condition of the fish stock
2. The impact of the fishery on the marine ecosystem
3. The fishery management system

However, it is widely now reported that it is losing its lustre and that the companies running the checks are too close
to MSC. The process has become a lucrative business in itself. At a recent meeting of scientists and environmentalists
there was anger over the certification of Canadian Fraser river sockeye salmon, whose population is in freefall.
There is concern that in the end supermarkets are demanding an eco-label, so it is now power politics that are
pushing these brands, be it MSC’s blue label or Freedom Food.

The issue is of burning relevance to our local waters. In Scotland there has long been concern over bottom trawling
for prawns - it decimates the bottom living ecosystem, destroying the early food of white fish, and rare sea pens and
even endangered firework anemones. Research in the Clyde estuary in a 10 month period in 2007 also showed that
the bycatch in turn is extremely destructive of juvenile fish. In total over 31 million dead juvenile fish were found in the
bycatch with an average weight of 63 grams. Yet prawn trawling in NW Scotland has received MSC certification and
the Clyde Fishermen’s Association is pressing for the MSC Blue Label for their mobile prawn trawlers.
This is madness when the damage done by the trawling methods is well-documented. One of the reasons the Clyde
is so depleted of white fish, and known as the Newfoundland of Scotland, is the destructive mobile trawling methods.

Improved animal husbandry is an excellent idea, and the RSPCA Freedom Food label is aimed to do just that. When it
comes to the marine environment, especially aquaculture, it becomes more problematic. True, the stocking density is
less but the label is not really concerned with the effects on the marine environment, and hence the wider ecosystem.
With land based animals there is clear pollution control in place - not so for fish farms which dump waste food, faeces,
and disease-reducing chemicals into the water without any controls.

The following data was obtained under FOI from SEPA’s Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory. It shows that in 2008
the following were used or released at St Molios fish farm of Lighthouse Caledonia Ltd in Lamlash Bay:
151,700g SLICE (chemical to kill sea lice an ectoparasite on salmon)
1858.56 Kg of copper for nets (active ingredient copper oxide)
38660.18kg Nitrogen
5338.79 kg of Phosphorus
124034 .733kg of TOC (total organic carbon)
109.1536 kg of Zinc
5.216056 kg of copper loss via feed

Soon they, although under a new company name The Scottish Salmon Company Ltd (SCC), based in Jersey,
are aiming to be Freedom Food Certified at St Molios Fish Farm. The fish may have better husbandry but the
marine ecosystem and environment won’t necessarily have been considered at all! Remember that when you
choose the more expensive Freedom Food fish...

Anyone interested in ecosystems is equally interested in any valid process to improve fisheries and the environment.
But the processes need to be above reproach. They need to cover not just a single fishery, but the marine
environment and the ecosystem of which the fishery is a part. Otherwise the credibility is soon lost and shoppers
will become as disillusioned with certification as they are with politics in 2010.