Over £5.25 million has been dedicated to 144 fisheries and projects around the world through the Ocean Stewardship Fund.
This includes 113 grants awarded through our annual grant scheme.
In 2024, nearly £1 million was awarded to projects including research that will safeguard fish stocks and minimise fisheries’ impacts on wildlife.
Around 40% of the grants are supporting fisheries operating in developing economies, such as Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa, including nine fisheries transitioning to sustainable practices through our In-Transition to MSC pilot (now the MSC Improvement Program).
2024 projects
Transition Assistance Fund
North Peru eel trap fishery: Improvements in practice and governance
Transition Assistance Fund
New Zealand orange roughy: Age models and Harvest Control Rules
Transition Assistance Fund
Nicaraguan spiny lobster: Improving fishery knowledge
Transition Assistance Fund
Gulf of California hake: Improving sustainability and management
Transition Assistance Fund
Kerala deep-sea shrimp: Continued sustainability research
Transition Assistance Fund
Mexican barred sand bass: Supporting fishing cooperatives
Transition Assistance Fund
Indonesian blue swimmer crab: Further strategies for sustainability
Transition Assistance Fund
Mexico, Yucatán octopus: Monitoring crab baits and environmental effects
Transition Assistance Fund
Mexico Pacific sardine: Training observers to minimise fishery impacts
Student Research Grant
South Africa hake: Investigating interactions with mammals
Student Research Grant
Mexican barred sand bass: Improving scientific knowledge
Student Research Grant
Suriname trawl fishery: Smartphone app to identify protected species
Student Research Grant
Mexico Pacific sardine: Improving brown pelican population estimates
Student Research Grant
Kerala deep-sea shrimp: Assessing bycatch reduction devices
Rewarding long-term sustainability commitments
Our Recertification Assistance Fund rewards fisheries that have shown a substantial commitment to the MSC program and sustainability.
2023 projects
Project stories
South Africa: Hake fishery supports bird conservation
Brazil: Traditional knowledge and modern devices reduce bycatch
Indonesia: Tracking anchored FAD use in tuna fisheries
Ocean Stewardship Fund
Each year, over £1 million in grants are available for fisheries at all stages on their path to sustainability.