UK Parliament launches fishing sustainability inquiry

The UK Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has launched an inquiry into the sustainability of the UK’s fisheries and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the governing body responsible for managing certification schemes.

The focus of the EAC’s investigation is divided into three areas, namely the impact of climate change and the legal framework protecting biodiversity in the ocean, a sustainable ‘blue economy’, and the impact of marine industries, science and innovation.

The EAC will review sustainability issues, including the regulation of aquaculture compared with traditional fishing and its potentially harmful impacts to the environment, as well as the role of the UK as an advocate of marine sustainability.

EAC chair Mary Creagh MP said: “The ocean plays a critical role in the daily lives of billions of people who live by it and whose livelihoods depend on it. Today it is suffering from pollution and plastic waste, climate change and acidification, as well as growing demands on its resources.

“Our inquiry will shine a spotlight on the threats to our ocean, and ask what more the government could be doing to protect it. We will look at emerging marine industries, and how the government can build a sustainable ‘blue’ economy.”

Marine sustainability campaign group On The Hook, whose members include celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, said it welcomed the inquiry and that it encourages the EAC to conduct a comprehensive review of all MSC fishery schemes in the UK.

An On The Hook spokesperson said: “There are MSC-certified fisheries that allow a fishing vessel and crew to use the same gear one day to fish tuna sustainably, receiving the MSC certification, and then on the same trip  [they could] be hauling turtles, sharks, juvenile tuna and other protected species unsustainably.  We hope the committee will carry out an in-depth review of these major sustainability issues.”

The committee will be accepting submissions to the inquiry that address the key points in the review until 16 May.

Last month, the Marine Conservation Society advised buyers and consumers to diversify their choice of fish in an attempt to reduce consumption of the UK’s top five of cod, tuna, salmon, haddock, and prawns.