Shoreline Café at the Two Oceans Aquarium is the first African restaurant to pursue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. From shortlisted restaurants that demonstrated their commitment to sustainable seafood sourcing, Shoreline Café was the lucky recipient of a prize offered by the MSC, to cover their chain of custody or traceability certification costs.

If successfully certified, Shoreline Café will join other well-known restaurants such as celebrity chef Raymond Blanc’s Michelin-starred restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurants in London and Amsterdam, where certified sustainable seafood dishes are already on the menus.

Two Oceans Aquarium Communications and Sustainability Manager Helen Lockhart says: “From the outset, we established Shoreline Café as a restaurant that serves only South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) green-listed seafood species.

“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 ... and educate our visitors.

“We cannot do this effectively or with credibility if any of our own operations impact negatively on the marine environment. We look forward to working with the MSC to establish Shoreline Café as the first MSC-certified restaurant in Africa.”

Overfishing is one of the most serious environmental concerns facing humankind today and issues of seafood sustainability are complex. The Aquarium is passionate about increasing awareness of sustainable seafood: Click here to download the latest SASSI pocket guide for responsible seafood consumption, and click here to read about the guide. We also hosted a special preview of seafood documentary The End of the Line recently.

MSC Southern Africa Programme Manager Martin Purves says: “Through the MSC’s certification, restaurant patrons can be assured not only of the sustainability of their seafood dish but also that it is fully traceable from the boat to their plate.”

The MSC ecolabel is underwritten by a thorough, independent and science-based assessment process. The rigour and credibility underpinning this standard and methodology has, since 1999, helped to create a global market for sustainable seafood that today accounts for 8% of total wild-capture landings.

As well as helping more consumers make sustainable seafood choices, there is now growing evidence that certification is driving positive change in the way the world’s oceans are fished.

Do you know your red from your orange and green? Click here to find out more about sustainable seafood choices.