MSC certification is overrated

FAROE ISLANDS — A Faroese fishing industry representative has dismissed the value of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, arguing that the benefits do not justify the effort required to obtain it.

Bjarni í Skálum, a skipper and member of the working group behind the Faroese fisheries management plan, said the MSC label, which claims to guarantee sustainable fishing practices, does not reflect reality. “An MSC stamp on a fish fillet is supposed to assure the buyer that the raw material comes from sustainable fishing,” he said. “But that is not the case.”

The Faroese fisheries management plan was finalized in 2019 through a consensus among fishermen, industry associations, fisheries scientists, and policymakers. Annual catch limits have been set since 2021 based on scientific assessments. í Skálum, who sits on the working group overseeing the plan, noted that negotiations concluded in 2023, when then-Fisheries Minister Dennis Holm reduced the 2024 catch limit by 20 percent in response to a stock assessment by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

The minister’s decision represented a significant deviation from the plan’s rule that annual catch limits may not fluctuate by more than 5 percent. The plan now faces renewed scrutiny as ICES must approve it for the MSC certification process to proceed.