[Column] Ethical Consumption and World Fish

MSC "Eco Label of the Sea" Blue Sea and Fish Image

Do you know about the Ocean Management Council, which is headquartered in London, UK? In English, the NPO called the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) was established by WWF and Unilever Corporation (NGO) who took the 1992 collapse of the cod fishery in Canada due to overfishing. The organization has established principles on sustainable fisheries and has created a mechanism to label fish (fisheries) caught in fisheries that have been certified to meet these principles.

In the MSC-certified fisheries industry, there are many cases where the amount of fish is recovered while fishing, and it plays a major role in resource recovery. For example, sardine fisheries in Spain had poor resource conditions 10 years ago, but the increase in MSC certified fisheries resulted in a recovery in resource volume to the maximum level.
The number of MSC certified fisheries has now increased to 15% of the world's natural fisheries (from the MSC 2019 report), which is expected to recover the world's marine resources.

By the way, what are good things for our consumers with MSC labels?
I understand that the benefits are "good quality of the fish" and "the fish is 'real'." This is because fish with MSC labels do not mix with other fish from the fishing ground to the supermarket store, and their origins and routes are clear. And I believe that being able to play a part in ethical consumption that creates a sustainable society as a consumer will lead to a very good social contribution.
However, there are still few people who know this MSC label in Japan. When you choose seafood, why don't you ask the shop if there is anything with this label?