India gets its first MSC certified fishery

Ashtamudi Estuary's short neck clam fishery today became the first Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fishery in India.
The Ashtamudi short neck clam fishery is the third fishery in Asia after Vietnam and Maldives to have received this recognition.
The Ashtamudi lake, a Ramsar wetland of international importance, is the second largest estuarine system in Kerala. It has extensive mangrove habitats harboring nearly 90 species of fish and 10 species of clams.
It contributes about 80 per cent of the overall clam export trade in India and supports the livelihood of around 3,000 fisherfolk involved in cleaning, processing and trading clams.

Dr Hem Pande, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, told reporters here that the certification demonstrates the importance of supporting small scale and high value fisheries as a niche market that supports sustainablity of resource use. It is also an excellent example of an initiative that supports the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The certification process took four years, Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India said.

"WWF-India initiated the MSC Certification of the Ashatamudi Short Neck Clam fishery in 2-10 recognising the possiblity of bringing in global sustainablity standards for the benefit of conservation and local livelihoods," he said.

David Agnew, MSC Standards Director said the certification programme is designed to be accessible to all fisheries that are managed sustainbly regardless of their scale, size, type or sustainable seafood.
The MSC is an international non profit organisation set up to help transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC runs the only certification and ecolabelling programme for wild capture fisheries.
Globally, 244 fisheries in 35 countries have been certified and there are no certified fisheries in 36 countries. "We are extremely pleased to see this small scale fishery become the first in India to be certified to the MSC's global standard for sustainable fishing," Agnew said.