Yesterday, 19 July 2011, members of the media, the fishing industry, the restaurant trade, the conservation community and our valued partners gathered together to celebrate the certification of Shoreline Café as the first restaurant in Africa to be awarded Chain-of-Custody certification from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) . This marks yet another pioneering move by the Two Oceans Aquarium. Joining the celebrations were members of the Tristan da Cunha government and its associated rock lobster fishery, which has also achieved MSC certification.

Shoreline Café Assistant Manager Mandambela Angelo was all smiles. He said the MSC certification is great, “because we are the first restaurant in Africa to be certified, so I feel on top of the moon!”

The certification process began in November 2010 when Shoreline Café was nominated to receive assistance from the MSC in order for it to become the first MSC-certified restaurant in Africa. Shoreline then underwent an independent audit by MacAlister Elliot and Partners, during which the seafood suppliers to the restaurant were investigated, as well as the system associated with the ordering process.

Chris Heineken (CapFish) and Ross Wanless (BirdLife). CapFish is an international marine monitoring and fisheries consulting group based in Cape Town.

“As an aquarium we are very much aware of the state of fish stocks around the globe and therefore it is imperative that we lead by example and raise awareness among and educate our visitors. Our vision is to foster love, respect and understanding of our oceans to inspire support for their future well-being. We cannot do this effectively or with credibility if any of our own operations impact negatively on the marine environment,” said Two Oceans Aquarium Communications and Sustainability Manager Helen Lockhart.

Mandy Ngoma and Nikki Seegers of LiveEco. LiveEco is an online publication and network in South Africa devoted to eco-friendly and ethical fashion, beauty and lifestyle

Shoreline’s head chef, Juan de Allende, who played a key role in the process, said: “The auditors looked at the traceability of our ordering system by checking each and every invoice to ensure that they could trace the seafood right back to the fishery. This gives our customers the assurance that the seafood we serve is indeed from an MSC-certified fishery.” He added that the audit was made easier by the fact that Shoreline Café only sells seafood that is listed as green by the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI).

I&J Surfing Chef Phillip Myburgh with I&J Commercial Director William Steenkamp

There are currently 59 MSC-labelled products in South Africa – this number has doubled every year since 2004. Globally, no less than 74 countries sell more than 10 00 MSC-certified products.

Natalie Govender (HuddleMind) and Jan Wissema (CapFish). HuddleMind is a digital culture incubator and think-tank, which uses digital platforms and social media to provide educational content, facilitate meetings, and enable peer-to-peer learning among its members

The MSC is endorsed by celebrities around the world, including Sir David Attenborough, Jamie Oliver and Raymond Blanc (The Restaurant).

Two Oceans Aquarium Managing Director Dr Patrick Garratt with Lorna Powe (Sales Partners)

The MSC certification guarantees the sustainability and traceability of the products that are served at Shoreline Café. You can come and enjoy your lunch or dinner with us guilt-free!

Dr Garratt, MSC Southern Africa Programme Manager Martin Purves, Shoreline Café Restaurant Manager Rick Viljoen and Shoreline Café Head Chef Juan de Allende

The certification ceremony was attended by journalists from Die Burger and The Green Times.

Sea Harvest Brand Manager Jared Patel enjoys a canape handed out by Shoreline Café waitron Sikholiwe. Sea Harvest is an MSC-certified product

From left: Merle Naidoo (Tourvest Restaurants), MIchelle Kruger (Tourvest Restaurants) and Janine Basson (WWF SASSI)

The Two Oceans Aquarium team that made it all happen