For centuries, cod was so abundant off the coast of Newfoundland that a scoop through the waves with a basket would land a decent catch. Fishing was one of the last industries to be modernized during the industrial revolution, but when it did, it soon caught up.
By 1992, Grand Banks cod was at one percent of its original biomass. The stock had collapsed, and the only sensible response was the introduction of a moratorium on cod fishing which sank Canada's largest northeastern industry overnight, taking the region's major source of income with it.
In 1997, while this crisis unfolded, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) was founded through a partnership between the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Unilever, which recognized its role as a force for good in pushing businesses in a more sustainable direction.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Marine Stewardship Council
