September 22nd, 2023

High Seas Fish Producers Organisation wins MSC award in Poland

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) celebrated its ten-year anniversary in Poland at the official ceremony of the MSC awards in Warsaw on September 7. During the ceremony, companies and organisations that have made "outstanding contributions to the promotion of sustainable fisheries" in Poland were awarded.

The "Ocean Hero Fishery" was awarded to the best organisation in fisheries, and this award went to the High Seas Fish Producers Organisation (Polish abbreviation DOPR).

The Marine Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organisation that recognises and rewards efforts to protect oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for the future. The MSC uses ecolabel and fishery certification programs to contribute to the health of the world's oceans by recognising and rewarding sustainable fishing practices.

Bogusław Szemioth, the CEO of DOPR, says that referring to fishing activity as the extraction of resources is a common mistake. "In fact, fishery is a harvesting activity. This is a fundamental distinction. Harvesting means deriving a renewable source of food from nature. Thanks to renewability, sustainable harvesting is a recurring activity. That's why it is in everyone's interest to maintain an appropriate balance, allowing the long-term harvesting of fish in the frame of a sustainable fishery. In other words, we aim to preserve the capital in the sea and repetitive use of the interests. This is an important message to all stakeholders and final consumers of the supply chain. Having said that, we would like to emphasise our gratefulness for the MSC contribution to the promotion of fishery products meeting the above-mentioned standard," says Bogusław Szemioth.