London -  International seafood ecolabel and sustainability standard, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), has opened an office in Edinburgh. The new office will allow the MSC to better support the Scottish seafood industry as it moves towards certified sustainability. Over 50% of Scotland’s fisheries are at some stage of the MSC programme, with most of these currently undergoing independent assessment – more than any other European country.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead welcomes MSC’s move saying: “I am delighted that MSC is opening an office in Scotland. This comes hot on the heels of our new Conservation Credits scheme, which is a great example of how Scotland’s fishermen are leading the way in the UK and in Europe.

“Today’s announcement by the MSC further underlines the vitality and importance of the Scottish fishing industry and its commitment to securing a sustainable future for our seas. Successful MSC certification will ensure the industry continues to go from strength to strength.”

The MSC’s Scotland & Foodservice Manager, Laura Stewart, who will manage the new office, says: “This is the establishment of a key office in the strategic expansion of the MSC and I am delighted to be representing the MSC in Scotland. I am particularly looking forward to working with our partners all through the supply chain from fishers to restaurants, processors to schools in the promotion of certified sustainable seafood.”

The new office will be at 4th Floor, Thorn House, 5 Rose Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PR

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Notes to Editors:

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): The MSC is an international non-profit organisation that was set up in 1997 to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. The MSC runs the only widely recognised environmental certification and eco-labelling programme 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 utilising scientific evidence;
- Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
- Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

MSC has offices in London, Seattle, Tokyo, Sydney, The Hague and Edinburgh. In total, over 90 fisheries are engaged in the MSC programme with 26 certified, 64 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together the fisheries record annual catches of over 4 million tonnes of seafood. They represent over 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 catches for human consumption. Worldwide, over 1,000 seafood products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label. For more information, please see this website