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Rebuttal to Froese and Proelss 'Evaluation and legal assessment of certified seafood'
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 20:47 authored by Agnew, DJ, Gutierrez, NL, Stern-Pirlot, A, Smith, ADM, Zimmerman, C, Sainsbury, KIn arecentpaper,FroeseandProelss [1] contendthat31%ofstockstargetedbyMarineStewardship Council(MSC)certifiedfisheriesareoverfishedandsubjecttoongoingoverfishingandafurther8%are either overfishedorsubjecttooverfishing.Theirresultsarederivedusingadefinitionof‘overfished’ that isnotconsistentwithinternationallyaccepteddefinitionsandinterpretations.Inaddition,the authorsusedunrealisticestimatesofbiomassthatproduceMaximumSustainableYields(BMSY) obtainedthroughmethodsthatareinconsistentwiththeapproachusedbythemanagementagencies and scientificadvisorybodiesresponsibleforthestocksinquestion. AnalysessuchasthatpublishedbyFroeseandProelssareanimportantpartoftheexternal, independentscrutinyoftheprogrammethatMSCwelcomes.Howeverthereareanumberofserious flaws intheiranalysis,dataandresultingconclusionsthatthisresponseseekstocorrect.Usingdatafor 45 stocksexploitedbyMSCcertifiedfisheries(>60% oftotalfisheriesintheprogrammeand >80% of total certifiedcatch),internationallyacceptedmethodsfordeterminingMSYreferencepoints,and internationallyaccepteddefinitionsoftheterms‘overfished’and‘overfishing’,nostocksexploitedby MSC certifiedfisheriescanbedefinedasoverfished(belowtheirlimitreferencepoints).
History
Publication title
Marine PolicyVolume
38Pagination
551-553ISSN
0308-597XDepartment/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesPublisher
Elsevier Sci LtdPlace of publication
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, England, Oxon, Ox5 1GbRights statement
Copyright 2012 ElsevierRepository Status
- Restricted