The Political Economy of Marine Stewardship Council Certification: Processors and Access in Newfoundland and Labrador's Inshore Shrimp Industry

Abstract

In August 2008, the Northern shrimp, a prey of the iconic cod, became the first species managed by the Canadian government to meet the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) standard for ‘sustainable and well‐managed’ fisheries. Using the Northern shrimp fishery as a case study, this paper argues that rather than being simply a tool for sustainability or even earning market access, MSC certification allows fishery ‘clients’– those organizations that ultimately hold the MSC certificate – to control resource access and production relations. The processing association that acted as the initial client in this fishery gained new members by sharing access to certification in 2009 and expelled a community‐based fishing co‐operative from the client group in 2010. Certification dynamics in this case reflected, and were used to reinforce, a highly competitive political economy of production. These dynamics may have implications for future resource access, since shrimp stocks appear to be declining in key areas after three decades of growth.

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