WRL congratulates western rock lobster processors Bluwave and Indian Ocean Rock Lobsters who have recently received the MSC Chain of Custody certification.
Bluwave, based in Fremantle, and Indian Ocean Rock Lobsters from Cervantes, have achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody (CoC) certification, the world’s most recognised certification program for wild-caught, sustainable seafood.
MSC Chain of Custody certification assures that in every step of the chain – from the fishers, to the processor, to the distributor and the end user – MSC-certified seafood is not mixed with or substituted for non-certified seafood. To achieve certification, Bluwave and Indian Ocean Rock Lobster worked with MSC Chain of Custody independent certifier, Bio.Inspecta, to ensure complete traceability through the supply chain.
We are really pleased to see the four major processors now have CoC certification.
WRL would also like to acknowledge Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative and KB Food Co. who have also been MSC CoC certified since 2006 and 2009 respectively, proving that the industry as a whole is fully committed to the sourcing, handling, storage and dispatch of safe, sustainable high-quality produce.
The MSC eco-label is awarded to fisheries that have shown, through an independent assessment, that they are well managed, do not contribute to overfishing and minimise damage to the marine environment.
The Western Rock Lobster fishery was the world’s first fishery to be certified as ecologically sustainable by the MSC in 2000 in recognition of the high environmental values and sustainable practices maintained by members. MSC re-certification has been achieved four times since, and thanks to a largely self-managed system setting the standard for fisheries around the world, the industry is gunning for a fifth re-certification this year.
In order to sell products from a certified fishery with the MSC logo, each member of the supply chain needs to be certified for traceability. The traceability certification means that seafood bearing the MSC eco-label can be traced back to the certified sustainable fishery that caught it.
To find out more about the MSC Chain of Custody Standard, please click here.
