Three companies involved in the Mexican bay scallop fishery have launched a collaborative effort to create a fishery improvement project (FIP) in the hopes of securing Marine Stewardship Council certification of the fishery.
Atlantic Capes Fisheries, of Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.A., Northern Wind of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Don's Gulf Select of Louisiana have announced a joint FIP to bring the fishery into line with international standards and move toward MSC certification.
George Kouri, co-CEO of Northern Wind, said the company has been involved in the fishery since its inception 30 years ago.
“We’ve recently formed a cooperative partnership with Atlantic Capes and Don’s Gulf working on an FIP project," Kouri told SeafoodSource. “We’re very excited about this undertaking, and making the Mexican bay fishery the next sustainable scallop fishery.”
Mexican bay scallops – also known as the Baja scallop, Catarina scallops, and Pacific calico scallops – are typically diver caught off the coast of Mexico in Magdalena Bay. The FIP was officially launched on 18 November.
“We are excited to be a sponsor of this FIP that will establish the Mexican Bay Scallop Fishery as responsibly managed and fully sustainable,” Atlantic Capes Fisheries CEO Jeffrey Bolton said in a release. “These bay scallops are of exceptional quality, which explains the high demand for them in markets across the United States and Europe.”
The project is being headed by Katarina Nakamura, co-founder of the Sustainability Incubator, a full-service FIP provider, according to Atlantic Capes. Nakamura has been a significant figure in seafood sustainability, including her role in recent studies regarding forced labor in the industry.
So far, the Sustainability Incubator has assisted six fisheries in attaining MSC certification.
