The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard assess fisheries across three core principles: sustainable target stocks, environmental impacts below acceptable limits and effective management.  Achievement and maintenance of an MSC certification across those principles requires commitment and cohesive efforts among often disjunct areas of science, management and industry at both institutional and individual levels.

Five Western Australian fisheries have been recently assessed for the first time under the MSC standard and have earned the right to use the ecolabel’s “blue tick”. Assessment was initiated through the State Government’s third party certification scheme, whereby fisheries committed to achieving and maintaining the MSC standard had their assessment and first audit funded by the State.

The linkages and relationships forged through the assessment process and maintenance of condition milestones have facilitated a large number of ongoing initiatives with clear benefits to all three parties as well as the development of best practice fisheries management and a shared vision of sustainable, well managed fisheries. 

This presentation will explore some of the challenges encountered throughout the certification process as well as how they are being addressed, and the structures which continue to facilitate the collaborative efforts to that end.