Summary
This article explores the intended and unintened impacts of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in the Russian Barents Sea, a region that is already recognised for sustainable fisheries management due to an effective state regime and stable bilateral cooperation between Russia and Norway. The researchers use semi-structured interviews, site visits, and a search of literature and policy documents to gather a qualitative dataset. An informational governance lens is used to analyse the qualitative data against three core concepts: transparency, participation, and trust. The paper concludes that given the effectiveness of the state regime in ensuring sustainable fisheries management, MSC certification plays a predominantly commercial role in Russian Barents Sea fisheries, by opening access to a wider export market and potential price premiums. Whilst MSC certification in the Russian Barents Sea has little impact on fishing practices, it does encourage cooperation between fishing companies, researchers, and NGOs, increasing attention paid to environmental issues such as bycatch. As an unintended effect, the researchers identify MSC's contribution to a growning divide between larger export-oriented fishing companies and smaller-scale coastal fisheries, and also draw attention to the general distrust of the Russian state in transnational private governance arrangements, the implications of which are unclear.