Brands and retailers have a vital role to play in protecting small pelagic fish stocks, according to the MSC, as demand continues to grow for both human consumption and feed meal markets.
Herring, blue whiting and mackerel in the North-East Atlantic have lost or had their MSC certifications suspended following disagreements on quotas between fishing nations. These three key stocks have only had international agreements in place for four of the last 25 years up to 2024. The result is that over the last seven years these species have exceeded the scientists’ advised catch by 31%.
Some of MSC’s commercial partners have already switched to source herring from other pelagic fisheries such as North Sea herring, summer-spawning Icelandic herring, Southern Gulf of California thread herring and Chilean jack mackerel which are readily available and supplying important markets.
To learn more, visit Marine Stewardship Council.
