ABSTRACT
A proliferation of eco-labels in the sustainable seafood movement has come with challenges related to developing and maintaining credibility behind the term ‘sustainable seafood’. One path through which credibility is achieved and maintained is transparency. This chapter examines the extent to which transparency is forthcoming in certification through the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), currently the gold standard for seafood certification. By analysing the Standard’s interpretations, governance structures, and Chain of Custody (CoC) programmes in the MSC, and in some cases comparing these with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), this chapter posits several ways in which transparency, and thus credibility, is compromised for the MSC. Specifically, loose and undefined interpretations in the Standard, a lack of stakeholder engagement in decision-making, and the opaque nature of supply chain interactions, are worrying. The chapter concludes that improvements to the assessment process linked with public disclosure of interpretations and objections documents, attention to inclusiveness and stakeholder engagement in governance, and increased value chain transparency by making visible supply chain information through improved CoC could lead to a more credible MSC certification scheme.
