The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has launched a new capacity building toolkit as part of its ongoing efforts to support efforts in addressing sustainability gaps in small-scale and developing world fisheries.
The toolkit, Working towards MSC certification, is a comprehensive guide for those working directly with fisheries making improvements to achieve sustainability, and ultimately MSC certification.
The toolkit provides practical information on the MSC requirements, and builds on 15 years of application of the MSC Fisheries Standard. It also showcases examples of best practice and actions that can be taken by fisheries to improve the sustainability of their practices.
Download the toolkit >
“An important part of the MSC’s work is to empower fisheries in the developing world. Many of these fisheries are in urgent need of improvement or recovery. With this challenge comes the potential for transformation. We are committed to building capacity and helping these fisheries overcome barriers for sustainable fisheries management and certification,”
– Dr. Oluyemisi Oloruntuyi, Head of the MSC’s Developing World Program
Toolkit tried and tested
To ensure the practicality and usability of the toolkit, the MSC piloted the toolkit in two workshops in Africa and India. These workshops were attended by representatives of governments, scientists and stakeholders involved with small scale fisheries.
This toolkit is part of a wider MSC Capacity Building Program, which delivers training workshops and tools to support fisheries improving towards sustainability. This program also provides a mechanism to increase technical consultant and assessor capacity in developing countries.
Capacity building workshops
The MSC will hold regular capacity building training workshops as part of the launch of the toolkit. The next workshop will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 11-15 July. Attendees will be taken through the MSC Fisheries Standard, learning how to benchmark a fishery against the MSC requirements and how to identify actions for improvement towards sustainability. Another training workshop will be held in London, 5-9 September.
Both the capacity building toolkit and workshops will provide opportunities for small-scale and developing world fisheries to strengthen their ability to design and implement Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs). They also assist prospective technical consultants and assessors in developing countries to effectively support these fisheries on their path to sustainability.
To attend future MSC workshops please register your interest online or contact Hannah Norbury, the MSC’s Capacity Building Manager: hannah.norbury@msc.org.
Source: Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
