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The ‘devils triangle’ of MSC certification: Balancing credibility, accessibility and continuous improvement

Author

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  • Bush, Simon R.
  • Toonen, Hilde
  • Oosterveer, Peter
  • Mol, Arthur P.J.

Abstract

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has continued to strengthen its position in the market based on its credibility as a transparent, accountable and science-based third party certification scheme. However, the consolidation of MSC's credibility risks being undermined by the poor representation of developing world fisheries and concerns that the scheme provides little incentive for continual improvement for fisheries once certified. This paper argues that the challenge of maintaining credibility while increasing access and fisheries improvement constitutes a ‘devils triangle’. In the absence of a clear policy from MSC for balancing this triangle fisheries are taking their own actions to differentiate themselves both above (MSC-plus) and below (MSC-minus) the certification threshold. To avoid further undermining of the MSC the organisation should internalise such externally-led differentiation by moving towards an internally controlled tiered certification system based on its already existing metric-based principle indicator system. Doing so would communicate on equity and continual improvement both before and after certification, and create on-going incentives for fishers to enter into the MSC programme.

Suggested Citation

  • Bush, Simon R. & Toonen, Hilde & Oosterveer, Peter & Mol, Arthur P.J., 2013. "The ‘devils triangle’ of MSC certification: Balancing credibility, accessibility and continuous improvement," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 288-293.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:marpol:v:37:y:2013:i:c:p:288-293
    DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2012.05.011
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Simon R. Bush & Peter Oosterveer, 2015. "Vertically Differentiating Environmental Standards: The Case of the Marine Stewardship Council," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, February.
    2. Ingrid van Putten & Catherine Longo & Ashleigh Arton & Matt Watson & Christopher M Anderson & Amber Himes-Cornell & Clara Obregón & Lucy Robinson & Tatiana van Steveninck, 2020. "Shifting focus: The impacts of sustainable seafood certification," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, May.
    3. Teitelbaum, Sara & Wyatt, Stephen, 2013. "Is forest certification delivering on First Nation issues? The effectiveness of the FSC standard in advancing First Nations' rights in the boreal forests of Ontario and Quebec, Canada," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 23-33.
    4. Rector, M.E. & Filgueira, R. & Grant, J., 2021. "Ecosystem services in salmon aquaculture sustainability schemes," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    5. Deighan, L.K. & Jenkins, L.D., 2015. "Fishing for recognition: Understanding the use of NGO guidelines in fishery improvement projects," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 476-485.
    6. Frazen Tolentino-Zondervan & Paul Berentsen & Simon R Bush & Larry Digal & Alfons Oude Lansink, 2016. "Fisher-Level Decision Making to Participate in Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs) for Yellowfin Tuna in the Philippines," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-22, October.
    7. Philipp C. Sauer & Michael Hiete, 2019. "Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives as Social Innovation for Governance and Practice: A Review of Responsible Mining Initiatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-30, December.
    8. Bronnmann, Julia & Asche, Frank, 2017. "Sustainable Seafood From Aquaculture and Wild Fisheries: Insights From a Discrete Choice Experiment in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 113-119.
    9. Asche, Frank & Bjørndal, Marianne Tranberg & Bjørndal, Trond, 2014. "Development in fleet fishing capacity in rights based fisheries," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 166-171.
    10. Marschke, Melissa & Wilkings, Ann, 2014. "Is certification a viable option for small producer fish farmers in the global south? Insights from Vietnam," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(PA), pages 197-206.
    11. Kvalvik, Ingrid & Noestvold, Bjoerg H. & Young, James A., 2014. "National or supranational fisheries sustainability certification schemes? A critical analysis of Norwegian and Icelandic responses," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 137-142.
    12. Frank Wijen & Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, 2019. "Controversy Over Voluntary Environmental Standards: A Socioeconomic Analysis of the Marine Stewardship Council," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-02071504, HAL.
    13. Stoll, Joshua S. & Johnson, Teresa R., 2015. "Under the banner of sustainability: The politics and prose of an emerging US federal seafood certification," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 415-422.

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