The natural fish stocks in oceans and terrestrial aquatic systems in the whole world are being exhausted by over-fishing. This is a well documented and worrying situation.

The MSC requires certification reports written in English. This is the reason why the reports are given to customers in two languages, Spanish and English.

The fishing activities have reduced populations of non-target species through:

	by-catch fishing,
	unwanted fishes discarded to the sea,
	harm inflicted to marine ecosystems.

Also, some marine populations endangered and “icon” species (of public interest) like seals, albatross, etc have been affected. There is a worldwide concern with the uncontrolled catch of marine resources. They legally belong to humanity, as fish is a highly nutritional and important component of human diet all over the world. Fishing resources are not infinite and they need to be managed in a sustainable way for our best interest, including consumers, environmentalists, fishermen, seafood processors, packers, retailers, and communities traditionally or economically dependant on fishing activities.

Not all the harm inflicted to fish stocks and marine ecosystems is the result of fishing activities. Other factors that cause pollution and contamination in seas, lakes and rivers affecting sustainability are: transference of species to another place of the world because of commercial interests, oil spills and mine residues, water contamination with agrichemicals, algae populations, urban sewages and industrial wastewater.

The Marine Stewardship Council

In 1996, Unilever (the biggest seafood buyer in the world) and the World Wildlife Fund (an international conservation organisation) established the MSC - Marine Stewardship Council for the certification of natural fisheries worldwide. Since 1999, the MSC has operated fully independent from both organisations, auditing and accrediting the effectiveness of independent certifying companies. To date, it has accredited 10 companies, including ORGANIZACION INTERNACIONAL AGROPECUARIA (OIA) from Argentina and Brazil , to certify fisheries. OIA is the only Latin American certifier accredited to certify Sustainable Fisheries .

The MSC has developed “Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Fisheries” which are used as standard to guide accredited certifiers in an independent certification program. The request for certification is voluntary, made by the group or organisation operating or controlling the fisheries, or by groups or organisations with authority to influence the fisheries management and practices. The operations which conform these principles will be eligible for certification. The MSC promotes the equal access to certification, regardless the size of the fishing operation.