MSC Board of Trustees has decided to reduce the maximum amount payable from £15,000 to £5,000 the cost for parties involved in an MSC fishery assessment to lodge an objection under the MSC’s Objections Procedure. The MSC Objections Procedure offers participants in a fishery assessment a fair and transparent review, by an Independent Adjudicator, of contested certifier decisions, that is independent of the certifier, objector and MSC.
Chris Ninnes, MSC Deputy Chief Executive, informed that the Objections Procedure is a key component of the MSC fishery assessment process and is yet another way the MSC program ensures that decisions are transparent and credible. Previous objections have resulted in changes to final certification decisions and have led to fisheries being required to fulfill additional action plans specifying improvements as part of the certification decision.
He added that the decision to reduce the cap on a contribution to costs further reduces the likelihood that a fishery client or engaged stakeholder will be deterred from lodging an objection to a certification decision by an inability to pay. The MSC’s credibility rests in part upon active stakeholder participation in fishery assessments; this decision helps ensure the full certification process is accessible to a wide constituency.
