When CSR becomes a fishy business

Retailers, caterers and restaurateurs wishing to establish and maintain their CSR credentials tend to focus on locally and sustainably sourced food. When it comes to fish, one of the ways they have done this is by relying on the Marine Stewardship Council's certification. However, this certification has just been challenged by a group of academics and experts in marine ecology. They claim that the MSC certification has been awarded to fisheries which decimate fish populations by overfishing.

They challenge the decisions to certify the Alaskan Pollock fishery which saw a 64% dip in stock between 2004 and 2009, and Pacific hake which was certified in 2009 despite its population dropping by 89% since the 1980s.

The UK has 13 MSC-certified fisheries, including popular species such as the Hastings Dover Sole and South-west mackerel. British food retailers including Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer have adopted the scheme. Both of these retailers invest heavily in their CSR programmes, and view their food sourcing policies as a key element of being a sustainable responsible brand.

The MSC has refuted the claims, saying that the population declines indicated arise from naturally fluctuating fish populations. The trouble is that the authors are heavyweight academics, as are the signatories. One of them, Sidney Holt, is one of the original authors of the 'Beverton-Holt Model' for the population growth of commercial fish species. This Model has been part of the basis of fisheries biology since its publication in 1957.

For companies wishing to make sustainable sourcing of fish part of their CSR programme, even the whiff of scandal around the MSC certification system is worrying.

Sourcing sustainable fish is increasingly important as stocks dwindle worldwide - with a potentially devastating impact on the environment and on the world's poor. The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is attempting to raise awareness of this issue through its Save the Sea campaign against illegal fishing. It says retailers and the hospitality industry can play a huge role in combating 'pirate' fishing which accounts for almost a third of the global catch.

Any business in this industry needs to include stringent sourcing as part of its CSR policy. The hospitality and food retail sector can have an impact on the market by ensuring that the fish they serve is legally caught and comes from sustainable fisheries.

Illegally caught fishing not only destroys fish populations, but it also damages food, income and employment sources in developing countries.

For example, in Sierra Leone, $29 million US dollars are lost every year to illegal fishing activities from foreign vessels which could be going to fund essential development and an end to poverty. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, and illegal fishing takes food from the people's mouths. Currently 70% of the population live below the national poverty line of a dollar a day; 51% are undernourished; 26% live in extreme poverty and 27% of children under 5 are malnourished. Fish is their primary source of animal protein. Much of Sierra Leone's fish ends up on European plates.

This is why being able to rely on certification standards is so important, and the MSC would do well to take on board some of the suggestions made by academics who criticise them. Surely making a system as robust as possible is in everyone's interests.

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