Crustacean Fisheries and the Marine Stewardship Council Ecolabeling Program – a Review

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the leading global fishery ecolabeling program with about 12% of the world’s capture fisheries either certified or under assessment with the MSC program.  Fifty-two crustacean fisheries are engaged with the MSC, with 38 being certified and another 14 are in full assessment.   Those fisheries further break down into the broad categories of crab, krill, lobster, nephrops, and shrimp/prawns, with multiple species in most categories, representing fisheries in all oceans and many with warmwater and coldwater species. This paper reviews some of the key issues that have been encountered in certification of crustacean fisheries, and particularly analyses how some life history characteristics intrinsic of crustacean resources may or may not contribute to fisheries sustainability as defined by the MSC standard. In addition, we highlight some environmental and economic benefits of certification and we discuss potential barriers for further certification of crustacean fisheries.