Socio-economic incentives for harvesters and supply chain to meet seafood sustainability standards

Seafood traceability is a key strategy for combating marine illegal trade, unethical practices and ensuring transparent and sustainable seafood sourcing. However, it is no simple feat to transparently document and track the... [ view full abstract ]

Seafood traceability is a key strategy for combating marine illegal trade, unethical practices and ensuring transparent and sustainable seafood sourcing. However, it is no simple feat to transparently document and track the journey of marine harvest from sea to market, especially in complex, border-crossing and geographically far-reaching supply chains.

Voluntary Sustainability Standards, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), incentivize harvesters to adopt sustainable practices, and supply chain actors to selectively source and track their products, in exchange for public recognition through an eco-label. Reasons to join a certification program may include access to new markets, improved reputation, and risk-avoidance of mislabeling and fraud. 

With potential for being a strong driver of positive change, but also risks of negative impacts, for example certified harvesters outcompeting small-scale producers that cannot afford necessary improvements, it is important to understand and monitor socio-economic mechanisms involved in seafood certification. Yet, to date, most published studies rely on anecdotal knowledge and isolated case studies.

The MSC, with 13% of global wild-capture fisheries’ harvest certified, and nearly 3500 Chain of Custody certificates, works with a global network of stakeholders in the harvest and post-harvest sectors, thus being well-placed for systematically investigating these questions.

  Here we present early results of a new large-scale data collection program on socio-economic impacts of MSC certification in three pilot studies. Interviews with harvesters and processors show a complex landscape of costs and rewards. We discuss implications for effectiveness of market-driven sustainability interventions, emerging research questions, and MSC’s plans for future developments.