Addressing environmental considerations for Marine Stewardship Council certification: A case study using lobsters

Abstract

This paper uses the Western Australian rock lobster, the first fishery certified by MSC, as a case study to discuss some of the environmental issues encountered in MSC's Principle 2 and the strategies implemented to address them. Experience with the certification of Western Australian rock lobster has highlighted the importance of; comprehensive documentation of current and historical information, monitoring and research, a transparent process of risk identification and the value of an independent advisory group to review risks and guide research directions. A comparison of other certified lobster fisheries worldwide revealed that third party certification consistently identified specific environmental issues, indicating that the strategies implemented to support the ongoing certification of the Western Australian rock lobster fishery may be relevant to other fisheries.