With an increasing number of consumers wanting to know where their food comes from, eco-labeled food is becoming more popular, according to marine conservation expert Patrick Caleo.

“Fishing has an impact on our marine environment and it’s not just fish stocks that are affected. Sensitive habitats, endangered species and the marine food chain need to be maintained to keep the oceans healthy and productive,” said Caleo, who visited Seoul for the second series of Panda Talks hosted by World Wide Fund for Nature on Monday.

As an Asia-Pacific regional director at the Marine Stewardship Council, Caleo said MSC certification and eco labeling enables everybody to play a part in healthy food selection, as well as securing the future for our oceans.

Founded in 1997 under the joint effort of WWF and Unilever, MSC was established to address the problem of unsustainable fishing and safeguard seafood supplies for the future. According to WWF’s Marine Living Planet Index, about 700 million people around the world consume marine products as their main source of protein and over the past 40 years the marine population has halved.

As of 2016, about 10 percent of some 100 billion tons of marine products sold in the market annually are certified with MSC’s eco-label. At least 250 fisheries and 1,600 distributors around the globe are participating in this program.

MSC certified fisheries meet robust requirements in terms of fish stocks, impact on the ecosystem and effective management. They are also encouraged to develop new ways to conserve the marine environment for future generations.

“Our team of scientists go there and look at all of aspects of fishery performances. The result takes years and if successful, fisheries earn the right to use the MCS eco-label,” Caleo explained.

Fisheries also regularly receive MSC standard counseling and improvement tools for development, as well as being continuously monitored in their progress toward MSC certification.

Caleo, with his 20 years of experience working with seafood, joined the MSC in 2008 to support the development of the program within the Asia Pacific region. Over the past five years, the MSC program in the Asia Pacific has expanded significantly, enjoying strong acceptance in many parts of the region including Hong Kong, Sydney, Beijing and Tokyo.

While the MSC eco-labeling program has been strongest in European countries, where supermarkets have 8-9,000 products for consumers to choose from, the program recently penetrated the Chinese market.

As for Korea, there are 17 MSC-certified products sold in the market and 28 companies with certification which can purchase MSC-certified products as a supplier, such as Ottogi, Hansung Food, Ikea.

“We are seeing more Korean fisheries showing interest in getting MSC certification. Once consumers here start to make a choice for MSC-certified products, they will realize how easy it is to track down where it came from,” said Caleo.

For the first time in Korea, Pukyung University in Busan kicked off a project in June in collaboration with MSC.

In early November, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with MSC to spread awareness and promote its eco labeling.

“There are other country based schemes. But MSC is by far the easiest program for consumers to participate in. When you pick sea bass labeled ‘certified sustainable,’ at a supermarket, you are helping to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing. That sets us apart from any other schemes,” said Caleo.

By Kim Da-sol(ddd@heraldcorp.com)