Abstract

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-label certifies that seafood comes from a sustainable source. This eco-label is becoming an important market-driven management tool in developed world fisheries, but its use lags behind in the developing world, where ecosystem approaches to fishery management have not yet been widely implemented. However, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under its REBYC-II LAC project is helping to address ecosystem concerns within the shrimp trawl fisheries of a number of developing countries within Latin America and the Caribbean by helping to reduce the negative ecosystem impact of the gear through bycatch reduction and improved habitat impact management. This study investigates how the potential improvements achieved under the REBYC-II LAC project could help in satisfying requirements for obtaining a MSC certification in Campeche shrimp fishery in Mexico. Both the feasibility and desirability of obtaining MSC certification in this fishery is assessed. This is done through on-site surveys and interviews with managers, fishers, processors and other relevant stakeholders. The results will highlight the data gaps and shortfalls for obtaining this prestigious eco-label in the Campeche shrimp fishery and should help guide the industry and fishery managers towards necessary steps for achieving sustainability

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