Since its creation in 2019, MSC’s Ocean Stewardship Fund has awarded $8.8million to support over 200 fisheries and projects worldwide, including almost 90 in developing economies.
In 2025, $2.2 million was awarded to support fisheries on their sustainability journey, including research and innovations to safeguard fish stocks and minimise fisheries’ impacts on wildlife.
2025 projects
Indonesia longline tuna and swordfish: Enhancing observer programs
Australia Lakes & Coorong: Improving harvest strategies
South African hake trawl: Trialling innovative technologies
Mexican North Pacific brown shrimp: Systematic improvement
South Atlantic albacore tuna: Stock-wide harvest strategy
California market squid: Understanding populations
Tropical tuna purse seine: Improving shark bycatch assessment
Indonesia Central Java prawn: Environmental DNA analysis
Aegean longline: Minimising interactions with endangered species
Iberian sardine: Adapting the management of stocks
Indonesia Central Java prawn: Researching genetics
Namibia hake: Targeted Acoustic Startle Technology
WCPO Tuna: Shark handling and release techniques
Chilean demersal crustacean fisheries: Harvest control rules
Pathway to sustainability
Pathway to Sustainability projects are multi-fishery, multi-stakeholder collaborations with governments, scientists, NGOs, and the supply chain that use MSC Fishery Improvement tools as a framework to improve environmental performance.The program has a special focus on small-scale fisheries in developing economies. These fisheries supply around half of the global wild fish catch and employ over 90% of workers in the sector yet face unique challenges.
14 Pathways Projects and 30 fisheries across three regions are being supported by the Ocean Stewardship Fund.
Pathway Projects supported in 2024-25
Indonesia
Indonesia is a major fish producer, contributing 8.2% of global catch and supporting about 12 million workers. The country's fisheries face challenges such as data gaps, inconsistent management, and limited tools, threatening sustainability and livelihoods. This project brings together the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), provincial governments, industry leaders, and academia to tackle these issues and improve tuna, octopus, and sardine fisheries management through workshops, research, and co-creating practical solutions.
Kenya
Fishing is vital to Kenya's coastal communities, especially small-scale fishers, traders, processors, and women. However, the sector faces challenges, including illegal fishing, climate change, and habitat destruction. This project focuses on prawns, crabs, lobsters, tuna, and octopus, aiming to improve collaboration among small-scale fishers, NGOs, and agencies like the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) and Kenya Fisheries Service (KeFS) to protect fishers' livelihoods.
China
China produces 85% of the world's bivalves, which support marine biodiversity, improve water quality, and capture carbon. However, overharvesting, habitat loss, and pollution threaten their sustainability. This project will engage regional stakeholders, including local governments and NGOs, to address common threats and promote sustainable practices through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and coordinated environmental actions.
2024 projects
North Peru eel trap fishery: Improvements in practice and governance
New Zealand orange roughy: Age models and Harvest Control Rules
Nicaraguan spiny lobster: Improving fishery knowledge
Gulf of California hake: Improving sustainability and management
Kerala deep-sea shrimp: Continued sustainability research
Mexican barred sand bass: Supporting fishing cooperatives
Indonesian blue swimmer crab: Further strategies for sustainability
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Mexico, Yucatán octopus: Monitoring crab baits and environmental effects
Mexico Pacific sardine: Training observers to minimise fishery impacts
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South Africa hake: Investigating interactions with mammals
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Mexican barred sand bass: Improving scientific knowledge
Suriname trawl fishery: Smartphone app to identify protected species
Mexico Pacific sardine: Improving brown pelican population estimates
Kerala deep-sea shrimp: Assessing bycatch reduction devices
Rewarding long-term sustainability commitments
2023 projects
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Project stories
South Africa: Hake fishery supports bird conservation
Indonesia: Tracking anchored FAD use in tuna fisheries
Ocean Stewardship Fund
Each year, over £1 million in grants are available for fisheries at all stages on their path to sustainability.