Price Premiums for Providing Eco-labelled Seafood: Evidence from MSC-certified Cod in Sweden

Eco-labelled seafood is an important tool to promote sustainable development in fisheries. A price premium on eco-labelled seafood signals a return on investment in sustainable fishing methods, providing an incentive for fishers to adopt such methods. This paper investigates whether Swedish fishermen gained a price premium from participating in the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified Swedish Eastern Baltic cod fishery in the period 2011-2012. Using a detailed dataset of landing tickets and log books, we apply a panel data methodology to estimate the MSC price premium. We cannot find reliable evidence that the consumer level premium for MCS cod is actually passed back to the producers in this case.