We have been criticising the "sustainability seal" of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for many years. Too frequently and too systematically, this London-based initiative has certified fisheries that have 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, extensive damage to the seabed. Globally, under the banner of the MSC seal, dolphins and sharks are killed in nets, ghost nets are discarded in the ocean through lost FADs (fish aggregating devices), and turtles are killed on longlines - in the past, even shark finning occurred. Too much money was to be made from certification to resist the temptation of pushing the grey area of "just-about-sustainable" further and further into absurdity.
Now, the MSC has suspended a previously certified fishery, thereby retrospectively withdrawing the seal for the future - a very rare occurrence: the North Sea saithe fishery will no longer be allowed to advertise with the MSC seal. It has been withdrawn with effect from 30 June 2025.
"Seelachs" is the commercial name for saithe (coalfish, Pollachius virens), a member of the cod family; the association with salmonids is intentional, but incorrect.
The reason cited by the MSC is the altered scientific situation, as determined by the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea). The MSC standards dictate that fish populations may only be exploited to an extent that does not negatively impact the stock size. The scientific stock assessment by the ICES already revealed last year that the stock situation of North Sea saithe is no longer clear. This has only now been addressed - shortly before the upcoming ICES stock development data at the end of July 2025; it remains to be seen where this will lead.
Source: https://taz.de/Nachhaltigkeit-in-der-Fischerei/%216088438
