The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) joins the global community in marking this year’s World Oceans Day, with the launch of a video, #BlueMonday. The video (a collection of fish dancing to the iconic New Order track “Blue Monday”) encourages viewers to help ensure ‘happy oceans’ by choosing seafood with the blue MSC ecolabel.

More than 200 million people depend on the oceans for their livelihood and another 3 billion rely on it for nutrition*. Fishing in a sustainable manner is critical to the health of this vast natural resource.

Show your support

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive Officer of the MSC wants everyone to play a part in ensuring that our oceans are protected for posterity. He says “as a consumer, choosing seafood with the MSC label is one way that you can support and make a positive contribution to World Oceans Day. At the MSC, our goal is to see that this vast and all important natural resource is protected and safeguarded for future generations. Our oceans are the backbone of many economies, feeding millions and providing income for many. It is therefore crucial that we care for and protect it for this and future generations.”

Only seafood from certified sustainable fisheries which meet the MSC’s Fisheries Standard can carry the MSC ecolabel. This standard is widely recognised as the most credible mark of seafood sustainability and appears on over 28,000 seafood products around the world. 

Sustainable cod and lobster

The #BlueMonday video features some of the 108 MSC certified species including cod and lobster. Last year, around 65,000 tonnes of MSC certified lobster was caught globally compared to 10,000 in 2012.  In 2014 the global catch of MSC certified cod passed one million tonnes as more fisheries in the North Atlantic became MSC certified. Other species in the film represent the wider marine ecosystem which MSC certified fisheries are helping to protect.

World Oceans Day

World Oceans Day is commemorated every June 8th, the day set aside by the United Nations to recognise the importance of our oceans. This year’s theme is healthy oceans, healthy planet, and the MSC is joining the call to safeguard this vast and important asset for this and future generations.

* FAO 2014 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture