Langoustine fishery denied FOS certification
By SeafoodSource staff
05 November, 2009
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Friend of the Sea on Wednesday said the North East Atlantic langoustine trawl fishery failed to meet its criteria for sustainability certification.
Following a preliminary assessment on behalf of a main European retailer, FOS declined to authorize further audits of the langoustine trawl fishery in International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) areas Via and VII because it said the stocks are overfished.
The area’s stocks have declined 40 to 60 percent in the past two years, according to ICES. In some areas, ICES has even recommended a reduction in catches to the lowest possible level.
According to ICES, more than 70 million undersized langoustines — 25 percent of the catch — are discarded annually in the North and South Minch fisheries alone.
The bottom-trawling method used in the fishery is non-selective, discarding millions of cod, haddock, whiting, hake, monkfish and megrim annually, said FOS. Also, spurdogs, which are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, are also a bycatch of the fishery.
“We hope the fishery will in the future improve its management and lower its impact by promoting alternative fishing methods,” said Paolo Bray, FOS director. “However, none of the bottom trawling fisheries in the area currently stand a chance to be certified by Friend of the Sea.”
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05 November, 2009