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THE MSC - MISGUIDED SEAFOOD CERTIFICATION
New Zealand’s hoki stocks are being unsustainably fished, but that didn’t stop the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) recently awarding its ‘sustainability tick’ to hoki.
The MSC first gave hoki ‘the tick’ in March 2001. Since then, however, annual hoki catches have fallen from 250,000 tonnes to 90,000 tonnes – down nearly two-thirds. The odds of the hoki population recovering are low, say scientists.
Forest & Bird and the NZ branch of the World Wildlife Fund (who co-founded the MSC) have both criticised the certification.
Overfishing is a main driver of hoki’s decline, but the problems caused by hoki fishing go even deeper. Much hoki is caught through bottom trawling – a fishing method which devastates vulnerable deep-sea life. The hoki fishery also routinely kills many hundreds of marine mammals and seabirds each year.
“It’s hard to see how the MSC could justify a claim of sustainability for a troubled fishery that does so much harm to marine wildlife,” said Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, Mike Hagler. Greenpeace suggests consumers should ignore the MSC tick and avoid buying hoki.
What is the MSC?
The Marine Stewardship Council was set up in 1996 with funding from international food giant, Unilever, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Its purpose is to independently assess and certify “sustainable” fisheries for the benefit of consumers. It has been criticised, however, by Greenpeace and other environmental groups for applying weak standards to, and certifying some unsustainable and destructive fisheries.
The New GE-Free Food Guide – Coming Soon!
The eagerly awaited 6th edition of the Greenpeace GE–Free Food Guide is
due out before Christmas (just in time to make sure your turkey isn’t fed on GE!).
The previous five guides have been a huge success, and thousands of New
Zealanders have used them to make key consumer choices.
GE crops are like a giant global experiment with our environment and food chain. Choosing non-GE foods is one important way to safeguard our fields and dinner tables against this unwanted experiment.
If you’re not familiar with the Guide, it colour-codes companies according to their
policy on genetic engineering, thereby allowing people to know better what they’re getting when they fill their shopping trolleys.
In putting together this edition of the Guide, Greenpeace surveyed over 300 food companies.
The Guide will be out by December, with the online version and information on how to get your printed guide available at www.gefreefood.org.nz.
A new home for Greenpeace Aotearoa/New Zealand
After 5 months of looking we have a new building in Mt Eden, Auckland.
It is big enough for our warehouse and office needs, right next to public transport (train and bus) and in a good location. We take over in April 2008 and have three months to fix it up in time to move in end of June. That’s where you might be able to help! We need to replace the tin roof, insulate, gib, paint, rewire and upgrade our communication and solar systems. We will be calling in lots of favours so that we can make this office a good example of a sustainable building without costing the earth. So if you have any offers of skilled labour or great deals on suitable materials, you can let us know at building@nz.greenpeace.org and once we are organised we can let you know the specific needs and times.
New Zealand’s hoki stocks are being unsustainably fished, but that didn’t stop the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) recently awarding its ‘sustainability tick’ to hoki.
The MSC first gave hoki ‘the tick’ in March 2001. Since then, however, annual hoki catches have fallen from 250,000 tonnes to 90,000 tonnes – down nearly two-thirds. The odds of the hoki population recovering are low, say scientists.
Forest & Bird and the NZ branch of the World Wildlife Fund (who co-founded the MSC) have both criticised the certification.
Overfishing is a main driver of hoki’s decline, but the problems caused by hoki fishing go even deeper. Much hoki is caught through bottom trawling – a fishing method which devastates vulnerable deep-sea life. The hoki fishery also routinely kills many hundreds of marine mammals and seabirds each year.
“It’s hard to see how the MSC could justify a claim of sustainability for a troubled fishery that does so much harm to marine wildlife,” said Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, Mike Hagler. Greenpeace suggests consumers should ignore the MSC tick and avoid buying hoki.
What is the MSC?
The Marine Stewardship Council was set up in 1996 with funding from international food giant, Unilever, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Its purpose is to independently assess and certify “sustainable” fisheries for the benefit of consumers. It has been criticised, however, by Greenpeace and other environmental groups for applying weak standards to, and certifying some unsustainable and destructive fisheries.
The New GE-Free Food Guide – Coming Soon!
The eagerly awaited 6th edition of the Greenpeace GE–Free Food Guide is
due out before Christmas (just in time to make sure your turkey isn’t fed on GE!).
The previous five guides have been a huge success, and thousands of New
Zealanders have used them to make key consumer choices.
GE crops are like a giant global experiment with our environment and food chain. Choosing non-GE foods is one important way to safeguard our fields and dinner tables against this unwanted experiment.
If you’re not familiar with the Guide, it colour-codes companies according to their
policy on genetic engineering, thereby allowing people to know better what they’re getting when they fill their shopping trolleys.
In putting together this edition of the Guide, Greenpeace surveyed over 300 food companies.
The Guide will be out by December, with the online version and information on how to get your printed guide available at www.gefreefood.org.nz.
A new home for Greenpeace Aotearoa/New Zealand
After 5 months of looking we have a new building in Mt Eden, Auckland.
It is big enough for our warehouse and office needs, right next to public transport (train and bus) and in a good location. We take over in April 2008 and have three months to fix it up in time to move in end of June. That’s where you might be able to help! We need to replace the tin roof, insulate, gib, paint, rewire and upgrade our communication and solar systems. We will be calling in lots of favours so that we can make this office a good example of a sustainable building without costing the earth. So if you have any offers of skilled labour or great deals on suitable materials, you can let us know at building@nz.greenpeace.org and once we are organised we can let you know the specific needs and times.
