Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Jay Lugar.
Committee members, thank you for the opportunity to come to speak with you today on behalf of the Marine Stewardship Council. I'm going to speak a little bit about the pertinent topic of varying environmental conditions in the northern shrimp fishery off Newfoundland and Labrador. I will first provide you with a brief overview of the Marine Stewardship Council program prior to discussing how this program counts for today's topic.
The Marine Stewardship Council operates a global fisheries certification and eco-label program based on a scientifically robust standard for assessing whether wild-capture fisheries are ecologically sustainable and well managed. Fish products from fisheries that meet the standard are eligible to use the MSC's blue eco-label, or otherwise make the claim that they are MSC-certified.
MSC itself is in an independent not-for-profit organization based in England, with a staff of about 140 people working in 19 countries around the world. Currently, over 22,000 products carry the MSC eco-label, and those products are sold in 100 countries worldwide. The MSC principles and criteria for sustainable fishing were created through a three-year, multi-stakeholder process led, as my colleague here from Newfoundland and Labrador said, by Unilever and the World Wildlife Fund.
In 1999, MSC became an independent organization, and we are currently overseen by a board of trustees and advised by a technical advisory board and a stakeholder council. In all, MSC governance bodies include representation from 20 countries over 6 continents. So you're aware, a Canadian co-chairs our stakeholder council and as such sits on our board of trustees. That lady is Christine Penney of Clearwater Seafoods.
The commitment of Canadian fisheries to the MSC program has been tremendous, starting in 2008 with the fishery of interest in today’s proceedings, the Canadian northern shrimp fishery. Currently, there are 33 fisheries in Canada certified to the MSC standard. These include all major stocks on both coasts. There are eight other fisheries in assessment, including a large volume of lobster and freshwater fish, interestingly enough from Manitoba, and a large volume from Ontario.
Though I sit here and purport, or it sounds like this record is to MSC's credit, the MSC story in Canada is truly dependent upon and a testament to the hard work and dedication to fisheries management and excellence by the Canadian seafood industry and government; the thousands of Canadians involved, including the fisheries organizations represented here today; and companies like Loblaws, in the seafood supply chain, and many others. As this room knows well, fisheries management in Canada is a shared responsibility. Efforts toward MSC are no exception to this. MSC is proud to partner with Canada’s best-managed fisheries, bar none.
The MSC standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries is based on the “UN FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries”, and meets UN FAO guidelines for eco-label programs. Fisheries volunteer to enter by hiring an independent accredited certifier to complete an open, transparent assessment process, stipulated by the MSC certification requirements. The fishery’s performance against three principles is assessed. These focus on the health of the target stock; the fishery’s impact on the ecosystem, which specifically ensures there are no harmful impacts on bycatch species, on SARA species, and on bottom habitat functioning; and the effectiveness of the management system to deliver on principles 1 and 2.
In total, 31 performance indicators are evaluated, and a fishery must meet minimum acceptable practice scores on each indicator. For each of the three principles, the fishery must score an average of those indicators that equals global best practice. For indicators between these levels, the independent certifier will assign a condition that the fishery must close over the five-year period of the MSC certificate.
That, in a nutshell, is who we are and how the process works.
Certainly, environmental considerations are covered throughout MSC certification requirements, as is natural for a standard focused on fisheries management. Nevertheless the changing environmental conditions are not the subject of any one performance indicator. It is our expectation that the management system will fully consider and account for environmental variations in the normal practice of stock assessments, including its considerations of uncertainty, and set controls on catches accordingly.
The MSC program’s expectations on science and management are at play in the Canadian northern shrimp fishery. This fishery was first certified by a company called Intertek Fisheries Certification in 2008, as Derek Butler explained, because it was for the client, Association of Seafood Producers. The fishery was certified again by Intertek in 2011, when the offshore fishery achieved its own certificate for those areas and other areas. In 2012 we were happy when all client group members joined under one MSC certificate for this fishery.
The northern shrimp fishery has performed well in annual surveillance audits, which are also conducted by an independent certifier. These audits consider any significant change to the fishery and the management system that might derive a material difference in original scores, and also serve to review the fishery’s progress on conditions. The northern shrimp fishery has no conditions in principle 1 related to target stock health. This is the primary area where environmental variations are considered.
I would like to explain that the fishery’s current standing could face challenges from the productivity regime shift now under way. The specific MSC performance indicators where the independent certifier will consider new information are as follows.
Our very first indicator relates to stock status. A fishery is required to be above the point where the reproductive capacity of the stock becomes impaired and to be fluctuating around a target reference point. Northern shrimp was initially assessed with a high degree of certainty that these two traits were being met.
In the next surveillance audit, the new information about the declining status of the shrimp fishing areas 4 to 6, which is the unit of certification for the MSC certificate, will be considered. The certifier will review whether biomass remains in a state of fluctuation around the target reference point. The fishery faces a range of potential outcomes, which can include status quo scores, a rescoring that derives no material difference to the certification status, or a rescoring with the possibility that a new condition could be raised. A condition on this stock status indicator necessitates that a rebuilding plan for the stock be developed. That rebuilding plan must be successful within a reasonable timeframe. Of course, a target reference point that accounts for the current ecosystem productivity measures would be an important consideration in any new rebuilding plan, if one is required.
A second indicator relates to reference points employed by the management system and requires that these target and limit points must be appropriate for the stock. A certifier will consider whether these reference points are consistent with variable ecosystem productivity.
The MSC certification requirements in clause CB2.3.10 state:
As ecosystem productivity may change from time to time as marine environments change naturally, for instance under conditions of regime shift, the [certifier’s] team shall verify that reference points are consistent with ecosystem productivity.
It's a little prescient in some respects, but obviously a key point.
You can see reference points do not need to be static in the MSC system. The certifier would consider a management system’s practice of and justification for shifting target reference points for situations such as that which is believed to be occurring on the Grand Banks and the Labrador shelf.
Third, there are two indicators in principle 1 related to the fishery’s harvest strategy and harvest control rules adopted within that strategy. A harvest strategy must be responsive to the state of the stock in order to work towards objectives reflected in reference points. Specific control rules, such as setting a TAC, must be consistent with the strategy and ensure exploitation is reduced if the stock is moving toward a limit reference point.
The IFMP, adopted collaboratively by DFO and the shrimp fishery, includes an approach to setting exploitation rates based on stock assessment variations. This IFMP enabled the independent certifier to determine passing scores in 2011 for these indicators and to retain these scores in the first two surveillance audits. At the next annual surveillance audit, the consistency between the plan and the management system’s practice is information a certifier would consider when evaluating changes in the fishery over this previous year.
If, during a certifier’s review and possible rescoring of one or more indicators, there are new conditions imposed, or even in the extreme situation where adjusted scores place a fishery in a position to no longer meet the MSC standard, a certified fishery is provided with time to develop plans and actions to address these new challenges.
So that I am being perfectly clear here, my statements today are not to suggest that any one outcome is more likely than another in the current situation in fishing areas 4, 5, and 6. All certification decisions in the MSC program are made by accredited, independent certifiers, through a full consideration of information available during assessments and surveillance audits. Certifiers employ highly trained experts with scientific credentials and knowledge of the MSC system , including individuals such as Dr. Jake Rice, Dr. Howard Powles, Dr. J-J Maguire, and Dr. Jean-Claude Brêthes, just to name a few.
The MSC certification requirements are a rigorous review of all important aspects of a fishery’s management. The rigour and independence built into the MSC system, the scientific standing of certifier team members, as well as the inclusive, transparent policy and governance structure that we follow, have all contributed to the MSC program’s level of credibility. We strive to reflect global best practices for fisheries management in our system to encourage performance consistent with this level.
The situation now being encountered in the northern shrimp fishery will test fishery management practices in Canada. I am confident that this fishery is up to the task, as befits a fishing industry that has been so successful in the MSC program.
Members of the committee, I am grateful for the opportunity you have provided me to discuss environmental variations and the MSC program, and I am happy to take any questions. Thank you.