Jamaica has achieved the Marine Stewardship Council Certification (MSC)

The Jamaica Conch Cluster (JCC) is proud to announce that Jamaica has achieved the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for sustainable fishing for the Jamaica Queen Conch Industrial Dive Fishery located in the Pedro Bank. This certification marks the first of its kind for a Conch Fishery, making Jamaica a forerunner in the world.??

The MSC program is the most robust certification scheme for wild-capture fisheries in the market and required an exhaustive assessment of our fishery and practices against three principles- Stock Health, Environmental Impacts and Effective Management. With this certification, buyers, retailers and general consumers are assured that our wild-capture fishery conforms to the internationally recognized standards for environmental sustainability. Further, this certification can be used to gain further access to supply chains that require MSC certified seafood.

The certification is valid for 5 years and covers hand gather using free-diving, scuba, or hookah dive gear for Queen Conch. Vessels and companies authorized to use the MSC logo for sales of Queen Conch into the MSC supply chain are listed in the Public Certification Report and can be viewed on the MSC website at https://fisheries.msc.org/en/fisheries/pedro-bank-jamaica-queen-conch-industrial-dive-fishery/@@view.??

This landmark certification was made possible with the support of the Compete Caribbean partnership Facility (CCPF) – a private sector development programme that delivers innovative and practical solutions that stimulate economic growth, increase productivity, and foster innovation and competitiveness. CCPF is financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Canada.??

The JCC would also like to acknowledge and thank the Government of Jamaica in particular the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, its agencies, the Ministry of National Security (including the Jamaica Constabulary Force -Marine Police Division, Jamaica Defense Force- Jamaica Maritime, Air and Cyber command), the Ministry of Environment (the National Environment & Planning Agency), the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunication and Transport, and the Maritime Authority of Jamaica for their partnership in achieving this momentous achievement.??

Source: The Jamaica Conch Cluster (JCC)