NAMA comments on the Marine Stewardship Council’s certification of the Gulf of California, Mexico sardine fishery. The MSC may certify feed-grade fisheries as part of a larger initiative “to ensure the sustainability of these wild-capture fish used for feed stocks in aquaculture.” The sardine fishery is the first feed-grade fishery to undergo a full assessment for this purpose. However, we argue that the sustainability of the sardine fishery and other reduction fisheries cannot be meaningfully assessed using MSC’s current evaluation system, which was created without consideration for the need to sustain the vital ecological role of the target species as forage – a need worldwide. In summary, NAMA strongly opposes the certification of this fishery.