For many years, we have prioritised criticism of the "sustainability label" of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Too frequently and too systematically has this London-based initiative certified fisheries that had little to do with sustainability: for example, the bottom trawling fisheries of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark were certified as sustainable in 2019 without any restrictions, despite the well-documented massive damage to the seabed. Globally, in the name of the MSC label, dolphins and sharks are killed in nets, ghost nets are discarded in the ocean through lost FADs (fish aggregating devices), turtles are killed on longlines – in the past, sharks were even finned. Too much revenue could be generated from certification to resist the temptation of continually shifting the grey area of the "barely sustainable" into absurdity.
Now, the MSC has suspended a previously certified fishery, thereby retrospectively withdrawing the label for the foreseeable future – a very rare occurrence: the North Sea saithe fishery is no longer permitted to advertise using the MSC label. It was withdrawn with effect from 30 June 2025.
Saithe is the commercial name for Pollachius virens (also known as coalfish), a member of the Gadidae family; the association with salmonids is deliberate, but scientifically inaccurate.
The reason cited by the MSC is the altered scientific situation, as determined by the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea). MSC standards dictate that fish populations may only be harvested to an extent that does not negatively impact the size of the stock. The scientific stock assessment by the ICES declared as early as last year that the stock status of North Sea saithe is no longer clear. This has only now been acted upon – shortly before the release of the latest ICES stock development data at the end of July 2025; it remains to be seen how the situation will develop.
Source: https://taz.de/Nachhaltigkeit-in-der-Fischerei/%216088438
