stewardship council . a major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . july 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message marine stewardship council type nonprofit organization industry sustainable seafood ecolabel programme founded london england 1996 1996 1 headquarters marine house 1 snow hill london ec1a 2dh united kingdom key people rupert howes ceo werner kiene chair of the board of trustees number of employees circa 140 website www.msc.org footnotes references 2 the marine stewardship council msc is an independent non profit organization which sets a standard for sustainable fishing . fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well managed and sustainable compared to the science based msc standard are assessed by a team of experts who are independent of both the fishery and the msc . seafood products can display the blue msc ecolabel only if that seafood can be traced back through the supply chain to a fishery that has been certified against the msc standard . 3 the mission of the marine stewardship council is to use its ecolabel and fishery certification program to contribute to the health of the world s oceans by recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices influencing the choices people make when buying seafood and working with partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis . 4 another organisation the aquaculture stewardship council promote and certifies sustainable aquaculture . contents 1 how the msc contributes to changes on the ocean 2 environmental benefits of msc certification 3 key facts and figures 4 the msc standard for sustainable fishing 4.1 msc principles of sustainability 4.2 how sustainability is measured 4.3 encouraging further improvement in fisheries 5 the msc and aquaculture 6 stakeholder input into fisheries assessments 7 governance 8 ensuring seafood purchased is from a sustainable fishery 9 finances 10 independent opinion and criticism 11 see also 12 references 13 external links how the msc contributes to changes on the ocean edit when buyers choose to purchase msc certified fish well managed fisheries are rewarded for sustainable practices . in turn the growing market for certified sustainable seafood generates a powerful incentive for other fisheries to demonstrate they are fishing sustainably or to improve their performance so that they too can be eligible for msc certification . in this way the msc program helps to harness market forces to incentivise positive environmental change . 5 environmental benefits of msc certification edit a recent scientific study found that msc certified fisheries show improvements that deliver benefits to the marine environment . benefits included increased stocks ; improved management of stocks ; reduced bycatch ; expansion of environmentally protected areas ; and increased knowledge about ecosystem impacts amongst fishers . 6 7 a further study published in the scientific journal plos one ecolabel conveys reliable information on fish stock health to seafood consumers gutierrez et al. 21 august 2012 found following the first comprehensive analysis of global fish stocks targeted by msc certified fisheries that certified stocks are healthy and maintained above levels that ensure continuing sustainability . key facts and figures edit the msc was founded in 1996 inspired by the grand banks cod fishery collapse . in 1999 it became independent of its founding partners the world wide fund for nature and unilever . 1 msc has a staff of around 120 spread across the headquarters in london regional offices in london seattle singapore and sydney and local offices in edinburgh berlin the hague paris cape town tokyo reykjavik and the baltic region . 8 the msc program is open to all fisheries regardless of size scale location and intensity and runs a developing world program to ensure equal access to the program . as of 23 feb 2016 there are over 20 000 seafood products available with the msc ecolabel sold in around 100 countries around the world . as of may 2016 there are over 280 fisheries that have been independently certified as meeting the msc s environmental standard for sustainable fishing and over 90 are currently undergoing assessment . 9 around 3 300 companies operating in 34 500 sites have met the msc chain of custody standard for seafood traceability . 10 the msc works in partnership with a number of organisations businesses and funders around the world but is fully independent of all . 2 the msc standard for sustainable fishing edit the msc environmental standard for sustainable fishing was developed over two years through a consultative process involving more than 300 expert organizations and individuals around the world . it is consistent with the guidelines for the eco labelling of fish and fishery products from marine wild capture fisheries adopted by the un food and agriculture organization fao in 2005 . 11 msc principles of sustainability edit the msc standard consists of three core principles that each fishery must demonstrate it meets principle 1 sustainable fish stocks the fishing activity must be at a level which is sustainable for the targeted fish population . any certified fishery must operate so that fishing can continue indefinitely and is not overexploiting the resources . principle 2 minimising environmental impact fishing operations should be managed to maintain the structure productivity function and diversity of the ecosystem on which the fishery depends . principle 3 effective management the fishery must meet all local national and international laws and must have a management system in place to respond to changing circumstances and maintain sustainability . how sustainability is measured edit under the three principles are a total of 31 performance indicators that a fishery is scored against by an independent team of experts . the minimum passing score for each of the 31 performance indicators is set at a level which gives a good level of assurance that the productivity of all key elements of the ecosystem on which the fishery has an impact are not compromised . the msc system therefore not only takes into account the impact of the fishery on the target stock but also other vital components of the wider ecosystem such as habitat structure productivity and biodiversity . this minimum level equates to a score of 60 and if the fishery scores below 60 on any one of the 31 performance indicators it is an automatic failure . however achieving only the minimum 60 performance level is not adequate to become certified against the msc standard ; average scores of at least 80 for the performance indicators under each of the three principles have to be achieved . as a result every fishery certified against the msc standard is operating at a very high level of precaution . this means the fishery is more resilient to potential changes such as natural stock fluctuations and better able to secure its long term sustainability . 12 fisheries that want certification and to use the ecolabel pay us 20 000 to more than 100 000 to an independent for profit contractor that assesses the fishery against the msc standard and determines whether to recommend certification . 13 the assessors are independently accredited to perform msc assessments by accreditation services international asi . after certification fisheries undergo annual audits costing 75 000 per audit and are recertified every five years . 13 encouraging further improvement in fisheries edit because a certified fishery must achieve average scores of at least 80 across the three principles it is possible for a fishery to be certified with a score of between 60 and 80 for a small number of performance indicators . in these cases it is called a conditional certification conditions are placed on the fishery which it must fulfil within a set period in order to remain certified . even though the fishery is operating sustainably it must introduce a plan of action that will raise its performance to the more precautionary level demanded by the msc standard by increasing any score of between 60 and 80 to at least 80 within a set period of time . in almost all cases scores of 80 have to be achieved for all performance indicators by the end of the first certificate period five years . to remain certified fisheries also have to undertake an annual surveillance to check that they continue to meet the msc standard . after 5 years the fishery must be reassessed in full if it wants to continue to be certified . the msc and aquaculture edit the marine stewardship council is a program for wild fisheries and does not include aquaculture production . some types of enhanced fisheries can be certified but there is a well defined type of enhancement to which the msc standard for sustainability can be applied the fishery must rely on catching fish from the wild at some stage either catch and grow or hatch and catch . species must be native to the geographic region of the fishery . it is not possible to substantially augment the fishes food or give them medicines except in the case of hatch and catch fisheries such as salmon hatcheries where the fry are reared only to a small size prior to release to the wild . habitat can be modified but it must be possible to reverse the impact the enhanced fishery has on the habitats and wider ecosystem . 14 stakeholder input into fisheries assessments edit to ensure a robust assessment and to ensure that the independent team of experts has all the available information on the fishery the assessment process is open to a range of stakeholders to participate this could be other fisheries ngos governments or other bodies . stakeholders are invited to participate in the process from the outset and throughout the assessment stakeholders are given the opportunity to submit information and comment on reports all of which are made public and available for anyone to see on the msc website . 15 governance edit the msc is governed by a board of trustees of up to 15 members . in addition a technical advisory board and a stakeholder council advise the board . the structure of these bodies involves a wide range of stakeholders with different views so that decisions reflect many sectors and interests . 16 the board sets the strategic direction of the msc monitors progress and ensures the msc meets its objectives . the msc technical advisory board is made up of 15 experts in the fields of marine science policy and seafood supply chains it advises the msc board on technical and scientific matters . the msc stakeholder council ensures that the opinions of all groups with a stake in sustainable fishing and seafood supply are heard by the msc board . it comprises 30 50 members that represent a broad range of sectors and geographical areas including fishing organisations ngos consumer groups retailers and others . through these bodies the msc is continually improving its program and stakeholders are invited to contribute to its development through regular meetings of the stakeholder council and public consultations . ensuring seafood purchased is from a sustainable fishery edit the msc manages a second standard called chain of custody for traceability . if seafood is to be sold with the msc ecolabel every business in the supply chain must be assessed and certified by an independent body against the msc chain of custody standard . this ensures that only seafood from a certified sustainable fishery is sold with the msc label . 17 finances edit the msc is a registered charity 18 and non profit organisation 19 and depends on various sources of funding . from 1 april 2011 to 31 march 2012 the msc s total income was 15 million . total expenditure for the same period was 12 million . the msc board recognises it as generally good practice to hold reserves as a