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The MSC Standard by the Marine Stewardship Council is the only internationally recognised set of environmental principles for assessing fisheries to establish whether they are well managed and sustainable. The MSC is an independent, global, non-profit organisation which was set up to find a solution to the problem of overfishing. MSC was first established by Unilever, the world’s largest buyer of seafood, and WWF, the international conservation organisation, in 1997.

In 1999 the MSC became fully independent from both organizations and today MSC is funded by a wide range of organizations including charitable foundations and corporate organizations around the world.

MSC spent two years developing an environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. This standard was put together following worldwide consultation with scientists, fisheries experts, environmental organizations and other people with a strong interest in preserving fish stocks for the future.

MSC rewards environmentally responsible fisheries management and practices with their MSC blue product label. MSC certification allows consumers who are concerned about overfishing and its environmental and social consequences to be able to choose seafood products which have been independently assessed against an environmental standard and labelled to prove it.