The Global Fisheries Sustainability Fund (GFSF) is open to organisations including fisheries, governments and research scholars. It is designed to improve the research, knowledge, technology and guidance available to small-scale and developing world fisheries working towards MSC certification.
The fund uses income from sustainable seafood sales to support fisheries which are yet to achieve the MSC Standard. It reflects a commitment to increase the accessibility of the MSC programme to fisheries around the world.
Winning projects from the first year of the fund include a risk assessment of tuna supply chains in Indonesia, development of data limited management methodologies for Suriname coastal artisanal fisheries, and the use of smartphones to capture octopus fishery data in Madagascar.
David Agnew, Director of Standards at the MSC said: “Fisheries which meet the MSC Fisheries Standard are helping to ensure healthy oceans for the future. For many fisheries, however, achieving the scientific, independently verified criteria required for MSC certification is a significant challenge. We established the Global Fisheries Sustainability Fund to support fisheries with the knowledge, tools and expertise they require to achieve the MSC Standard. This investment will not only help more fisheries to achieve their aspirations of sustainability, it will also help to secure seafood supplies and fishing based economies for future generations.”
£207,500 has been allocated to the Global Fisheries Sustainability Fund in 2016/17.
The deadline for applications for the 2016/17 fund is 13 February 2017.
Organisations and individuals interested in receiving funding can find further guidance and application forms at msc.org/GFSF and can contact the MSC via GFSF@msc.org with any queries.
