08/06/2005 - In the first
ever agreement between the Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC) and a nation state, the Ministry
of Fisheries of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam and the MSC announced on World Oceans
Day a joint commitment to promote sustainable
fishing in the country.
A Memorandum of Understanding signed by Luong
Le Phuong, Vice Minister of Fisheries and
the MSC, describes the intention to explore
and encourage sustainable fishing practices
and MSC certification throughout Vietnam over
the coming three years.
Vietnam is the only country to so far make
a public commitment of this type, and the
move represents a milestone in the MSC's efforts
to reverse the global trend of over-fishing
and the degradation of the marine environment.
"Vietnam is setting an example that
we hope others will follow," said Rupert
Howes, Chief Executive of the MSC. "This
agreement represents the start of a process
that could bring real environmental and commercial
benefits. With leadership and commitment we
could see fishing practices transformed, and
we are delighted to partner Vietnam in this
ground-breaking alliance."
The initial outcome of the agreement will
be two pilot projects to encourage the commercial
Ben Tre clam fishery, followed by the Phu
Quoc anchovy fishery, to seek assessment against
the MSC's environmental standard for sustainable
and well-managed fisheries. The projects will
feature:
* A series of expert workshops and stakeholder
engagement initiatives intended to explore
the potential of the fishery for the pre-assessment
phase of certification;
* Assistance to the fishery in seeking funds
to cover the costs of the pre- and full- assessments,
which will be undertaken in the future under
a separate contract with an independent certification
body.
It is hoped that successful outreach to the
two pilot fisheries will result in more Vietnamese
fisheries coming forward for MSC pre-assessment,
potentially including the tuna, lobster and
squid fisheries.
"We support the MSC in their work to
assist Vietnamese fisheries become more sustainable,
and to further the development of the associated
communities," said Ms Nguyen Thu Hue,
Director, Centre for Marinelife Conservation
and Community Development.
Note to Editor
The MSC is the only internationally recognised,
independent, third-party fishery certification
programme that leads to a seafood eco-label
widely backed by commercial, governmental
and conservation organisations. Globally,
there are now 12 fisheries certified to the
MSC's environmental standard, and these supply
fish for more than 250 MSC-labelled seafood
products sold in 24 countries. A further 17
fisheries are in the full-assessment stage
and an estimated 20 are in confidential pre-assessment.
Taken together, the fisheries engaged in the
programme represent four percent of the world's
edible wild fish catch.
