MarinTrust and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation within the marine ingredient supply chain. The agreement aims to improve understanding of both programs, reduce duplication, and create efficiencies for marine ingredient producers. Both organizations will explore opportunities for mutual recognition and alignment of standards.

Libby Woodhatch, executive chair at MarinTrust noted that “this collaboration reflects both organizations' shared commitment to improving fisheries management and addressing the increasing demand for responsible marine ingredients. This MoU aims to clarify and recognize that both programs are complementary, yet different. The complementarity enables efficiencies to be designed and offered to seafood supply chain actors.”

According to Nicolas Guichoux, chief program officer at MSC, “the core of this MoU is to recognize that both programs share an interest in positioning robust assurance – based on credible third-party certification – as the preferable tool for the marine ingredients industry to demonstrate responsible sourcing.”

Key differences between both programs include:

• Unit of certification: MSC fisheries certification is available for fisheries, and MSC Chain of Custody certification is available for processors, and traders in the seafood supply chain from vessels all the way through to “consumer-ready production”. MarinTrust’s certification unit for its factory standard is the marine ingredients production facility. As a pre-requisite for an audit, a factory must demonstrate responsible sourcing, through sourcing raw material (whole fish and byproduct) that is MarinTrust approved. The certification unit for the MarinTrust Chain of Custody Standard is the marine ingredient processing or storage facility.
• Scope: MSC’s Fisheries Standard covers target stock health, ecosystem impacts, and management. MSC Chain of Custody covers segregation-based traceability in the supply chain. MarinTrust covers responsible sourcing and production, as well as traceability of marine ingredients. As a prerequisite to an audit and MarinTrust certification, the raw materials must be approved.
• Position in the supply chain: MSC certification applies to all wild catch fisheries, while MarinTrust focuses specifically on marine ingredient producers. MSC and MarinTrust Chain of Custody can be used to cover further processing up to feed producers, pet food manufacturers, etc.

This MoU includes the exploration of various mutual recognitions and collaborations to create synergies which will help reduce complexity and duplication of efforts and, therefore, reduce costs for the industry.