The Fifteen restaurant in Amsterdam was today certified to serve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) [1] certified sustainable fish. The restaurant will be the first of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurants and the third in The Netherlands to serve wild-caught sustainable fish with the MSC eco-label. Fifteen will serve Alaska salmon, South Africa hake, Hastings Dover sole and American albacore tuna with the blue MSC logo. 

The MSC eco-label is awarded to fisheries that have shown, in an independent assessment, that they are well-managed, do not contribute to overfishing and minimize damage to the marine environment. In order to sell products from a certified fishery with the MSC logo each member of the supply chain needs to be certified for traceability. The traceability certification means that fish bearing the MSC eco-label can be traced back to the certified sustainable fishery that caught it. The MSC is the only global independent eco-label for sustainable fish that is consistent with UN FAO guidelines and is the best way to identify sustainable seafood.

Rupert Howes, CEO of MSC says: “I am really pleased to see the first of the ‘Fifteen’ restaurants receive their MSC chain of Custody certification. Congratulations to Jamie Oliver and Sarriel Taus of Fifteen Amsterdam and his team on their decision to add MSC certified and labelled seafood options to their menu. Seafood sustainability is a hot topic. Consumers do not want to contribute to the social and environmental problems of overfishing and MSC certification provides them with the assurance they need to know they are making the best environmental choice".

Sarriel Taus adds: "Jamie Oliver already used the MSC website to choose sustainable fish. It therefore was a logical step for Fifteen to get the MSC certification in order to show our customers that we use sustainable fish. The more people are aware of the blue logo, the more they will ask for it. This encourages other fishermen to improve their fisheries management and get certified so that we can continue serving tasty top quality seafood in future. I am proud that the Amsterdam restaurant is the first Fifteen branch that actively promotes sustainable fish to our customers". 

At the launch a group of top chefs will battle to cook the best MSC tuna dish using MSC certified American albacore tuna. The ‘tuna battle’ is organised by MSC certified fish wholesaler Fishes in collaboration with WWF and DOEN Foundation. The winner will receive an audit for MSC certification of his restaurant. This prize has been made possible through a grant by DOEN Foundation. 

Notes to editors

The press is invited to attend the event at Fifteen Amsterdam, 17 November, 13:00-16:00. Please contact Nina de Graaf: +31 (0)20- 5095016
For more information on the MSC: Nathalie Steins, Commercial Manager Netherlands: +31 (0)6-10938640

[1] Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): The MSC is an international non-profit organization that was set up in 1997 to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. The MSC runs the only widely recognized environmental certification and eco-labelling program for wild capture fisheries. It is the only seafood eco-label that is consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and UN FAO guidelines for fisheries certification. The FAO “Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries” require that credible fishery certification and eco-labelling schemes include:

• Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilizing scientific evidence;
• Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
• Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

The MSC has offices in London, Seattle, Tokyo, Sydney, Cape Town, The Hague, Edinburgh and Berlin. In total, more than 120 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 35 certified, 84 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together the fisheries record annual catches of more than 5 million tons of seafood. Of fish for human consumption, they represent more than 42 percent of the world’s wild salmon catch, 40 percent of the world’s prime whitefish catch and 18 percent of the world’s lobster catch. Worldwide, more than 1,900 seafood products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label. For more information, please visit www.msc.org