Sustainable fishing - can food labels be trusted? | DW Documentary

Fish stocks are low and the world’s oceans are under threat. Which fish carry sustainability labels? And can these eco labels be trusted? [Online until: 18.10.2018]
Fish is widely seen as a healthy food. But which fish can you eat with a clean conscience, safe in the knowledge that you aren’t depleting fish stocks in the world’s oceans? Many consumers trust the blue MSC eco label awarded by the Marine Stewardship Council, which guarantees that the fish and seafood in the package does not come from overfished stocks. But for years the label has faced a barrage of criticism. This report questions the MSC’s certification standards. We meet fishermen who have acquired the MSC seal of approval primarily for marketing reasons to sell their fish, and who got it even though their fishing methods damage the seabed. "If it carries the MSC seal, no one asks any questions,” says the managing director of a plaice fishery. In Germany, entire supermarket chains offer predominantly MSC-certified fish goods. Forty-one percent of consumers know the seal and trust it. But marine conservationists are concerned about fish numbers and say its standards are too lax. A small-scale Galician fisherman who catches octopus and other species of fish using traditional methods categorically rejects the MSC label. He and his colleagues could have applied for it, but the MSC had also negotiated with the owners of large fishing vessels, which through their size alone are a threat to fish stocks. "If the MSC is only interested in certifying the stock of a species, but not the fishing method, then we do not want MSC certification," the fisherman says. One of the seal's co-founders has also accused the MSC of following industry interests more than its own environmental standards, and of "switching to the dark side.” Is there any truth to the accusation?
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