Chefs around the globe unite to support sustainable seafood for healthy oceans.  

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the ocean not-for-profit responsible for the world’s leading sustainable seafood ecolabel, has launched its Ocean Cookbook 2025. The free digital cookbook brings together chefs from all over the world to create a collection of healthy, delicious everyday recipes that tell a sustainability story about the seafood we all love. 

On local soil (or water?), our very own Chef Naledi Toona has happily stepped into her role as MSC’s campaign ambassador for a third year in a row. The South African rendition of the cookbook features whitefish – that is hake, haddock and cape whiting as locally available whitefish alternatives found in South African supermarkets and sourced from the MSC certified hake trawl fishery. 

The South African hake trawl fishery has been certified to the MSC’s Fisheries Standard since 2004 and was the first hake fishery in the world to meet this gold standard for fisheries sustainability. 

With the theme, ‘Good for You and the Ocean too’, the cookbook is the centerpiece of the MSC’s main awareness campaign at the start of the year, traditionally a time for healthy and more environmentally conscious eating. The Ocean Cookbook also highlights how easy it is to cook nutritious, sustainable and affordable seafood at home. 

“The ocean is vital to human life on our planet. It feeds billions and supports the livelihoods of millions more. We rely on it for our oxygen intake, climate regulation, and it is home to such wonderful biodiversity. Through simple, everyday choices each of us can help protect the ocean into the future. One such small act is to support sustainable fishing practices by choosing products carrying the blue MSC label when shopping for seafood,” says Louanne Mostert, Marketing and Communications Manager for MSC. 

Included in the choice of recipes are grilled fish kebabs and a mouthwatering fish burger by Swedes, Malin Nordblom and Stina Algulin; a fish potpie to feed the family by Polish chef, Madame Edith; a healthy spin on classic fish and chips by Kati Pohjanmaa, a Finish chef; and Chef Naledi’s popular and light hake tacos and coconut hake dishes. 

Check out Chef Naledi’s spiced hake tacos recipe here

“Cooking has always been an act of love for me and hake is such a versatile, sustainable and quick-to-cook ingredient. My entire family enjoys eating whitefish. I am proud to present the MSC’s Ocean Cookbook for a third year in a row. It conveys a message I resonate with and features recipes ideal as simple suppers, for school lunchboxes and more,” she adds. 

To help raise the profile, the cookbook includes stunning photography from internationally renowned food photographer, David Loftus, who has worked with Jamie Oliver throughout his career. David Loftus is a great believer in sustainable fishing. “This goes way beyond food. It’s about the future of our Ocean. We need to step up to the plate right now… or we’re in deep water.” 

The Ocean Cookbook 2025 is available HERE on the MSC website and is on sale in-store. 

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The sustainability of the hake deep-sea trawl fishery – the most important industrial fishery in South Africa – is in the spotlight ahead of World Fisheries Day which is celebrated globally on 21 November.

This year, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has partnered with South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association (SADSTIA) to recognise the rewards of sustainable fishing. The two organisations have released a short film called “Together we fish for the future” to demonstrate that to make a real change and contribute to the health of our oceans, it takes the collaboration of industry partners, seafood businesses and civil society.

Watch the full video here:

There are eight characters in the short film: Leon Henry, skipper of a hake fishing vessel, Sveinn Jonsson; Belinda le Roux, who monitors and manages the logistical needs of a large fishing fleet; Noel Less, a 82-year old retired captain and fishing gear expert; Fisokuhle Mbatha, who works as a research assistant with SADSTIA and is studying for a doctoral degree; Melanie Williamson, a director of a fisheries observer programme; Valda Jumat, production supervisor in a fish-processing plant; and Prince Mboso, who supports fish-processing operations as a forklift driver. They represent an estimated 12 400 people who work in the South African trawl fishery for hake and associated businesses.

“The rewards of a sustainable fishery cannot be overstated,” said Felix Ratheb, chairman of SADSTIA and CEO of Sea Harvest. “The hake deep-sea trawl fishery delivers R8.5 billion to the economy every year. Provided it continues to be managed diligently in terms of scientific recommendations, the fishery will continue to generate these benefits for South Africa for generations to come. That is what sustainability means.”

“With more than a third of the world’s fish stocks overfished today, the need to protect our oceans has never been more urgent,” said Michael Marriott, Programme Director for MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. “Around the world, the MSC and partners are raising awareness of the lengths to which sustainable fisheries go to safeguard the oceans, and we are really proud to say the South African hake trawl fishery is up there with the world’s best.”

The MSC, responsible for the world’s most widely used sustainable seafood ecolabel, is an international non-profit organisation that sets globally recognised, science-based standards for sustainable fishing and the seafood market. It is the only wild-capture fisheries certification and ecolabelling program that meets best practice requirements set by both the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and ISEAL, the global membership association for sustainability standards.

South Africa’s trawl fishery for hake is one of only two fisheries in Africa to have met the rigour of the MSC Fisheries Standard – along with 500+ others making up 15% of the global wild marine harvest. The MSC ecolabel assures that the seafood comes from a sustainable and well-managed fishery.

In the short film released on YouTube and via social media platforms on this World Fisheries Day, the featured characters each express a word of thanks to consumers for supporting sustainable fisheries through their purchasing choices. When you buy seafood with the blue MSC label on the pack, you’re helping to protect oceans, livelihoods and fish for the future.

Together, let’s do what it takes to ensure there’s seafood for future generations. Learn more by visiting the SADSTIA and MSC social media channels (#ChooseTheBlueFish):

SADSTIA Facebook

SADSTIA Twitter

MSCinAfrica Twitter

MSCinafrica Instragram

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