Sustainability notes

This is an overview of how the Vietnam Ben Tre clam hand gathered fishery scored in assessment against the MSC standard. For the certifiers evaluation please download the full public certification report with detailed information on the performance of this fishery against the criteria of the MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing.

The fishery scored as follows in assessment against the MSC standard for sustainable fishing. The highest possible score for each principle is 100 and a fishery must score at least 80 against each principle to get certified: 

Sustainability strengths

Some points on which the fishery scored over 90 are outlined below. 

Principle 1: the state of the fish stock

• A precautionary harvest strategy—the large area of clam habitat is closed to harvesting, and harvesters leave the largest clams to protect the ‘broodstock’ of clams to produce future years’ harvests.

Principle 2: the impact of the fishery on the marine environment

• Use of a selective, low-impact gear—clams are hand gathered, using only a metal rake at times to dig them out of the mud. The use of this type of gear ensures minimal disturbance to sand flat communities and no bycatch of other species.

Principle 3: the fishery management systems

• A cooperative management structure ensuring good monitoring of and compliance with regulations and minimizing illegal clam harvest.

Challenges

In order to ensure its continuing sustainable operation this fishery made a commitment to improving its performance where it scored between 60-80. Some of the actions the fishery has committed to are:  

• Limited research on the effects of the clam fishery on sand flat communities. The impacts on clam harvest on sandflat invertebrate communities are expected to present a low risk to community structure, but this has not been directly studied. 
  
• Limited research on the disturbance caused to shorebirds by the clam fishery.  Ben Tre may support internationally important numbers of some species of shorebird (e.g the greater sand plover, or chim choi choi). Disturbance during harvesting may pose a risk to these migratory species through prevention of feeding which may place an energetic stress on the birds, however this has not been directly studied.

Performing the necessary research to determine the above impacts and mitigate if necessary are conditions of the certification.