The North East Arctic cod and haddock fisheries harvested by UK Fisheries Ltd. and German companies DFFU and Doggerbank are now eligible to bear the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-label, the organization announced on Friday. They join the North East Arctic saithe fishery, which earned MSC certification just over a year ago.
The majority of the fisheries’ cod is sold in the United Kingdom. The fish are caught using demersal otter trawls and supply mostly frozen-at-sea whole fish or frozen fillets to their markets. They are also capable of supplying fresh fish, subject to market demand.
The certification has one condition involving the environmental impact of the fisheries on benthic habitats in Norwegian waters.
“This is a great achievement by an international fishery, and I am delighted to congratulate all three companies on behalf of the MSC,” said Claire Pescod, MSC UK fisheries outreach manager. “This certification will complement the UK Fisheries, DFFU and Doggerbank saithe fishery, certified just over a year ago. There’s a huge amount of interest in certified sustainable cod and haddock in the UK, and I’m sure that demand for the newly MSC certified whitefish will be high.”
