The Southeast U.S. North Atlantic swordfish pelagic longline and buoy gear fishery has received Marine Stewardship Council certification.
The certification covers about 200 metric tons of swordfish landed annually by Day Boat Seafood, which combines pelagic longline and buoy gear types. The product is sold fresh in domestic markets.
The fishery operates year-round with some seasonal variation in an area off Florida’s east coast. It is managed by the U.S. federal government under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and in conformance with International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) management requirements. In addition, other federal laws and regulations under the National Marine Fisheries Service apply to the fishery, including endangered species.
As part of the certification, nine conditions, or improvement actions, are required to address issues raised during the certification process. Progress in meeting the conditions is required and will be assessed during annual surveillance audits.
Among the nine improvement actions are:
• Day Boat is required to work with government agencies to encourage ICCAT to develop a harvest control strategy that addresses fluctuating stock levels. By recertification, ICCAT must have adopted an explicit strategy.
• Day Boat will undertake action in four areas to improve the performance of the fishery. It will enhance its data collection for all bycatch species encountered, including loggerhead turtles, marlins and sharks, and for assessing its impacts on the underlying ecosystem. This will be accomplished in part by an increase in independent monitoring to 100 percent over five years.
“We are proud our swordfish longline and buoy gear fishery has been awarded MSC certification, because it recognizes the dedication of the Florida east coast fishermen who have fished in a sustainable manner for the last decade, contributing to the revitalization of the North Atlantic swordfish population,” said Debbie Lewis, Day Boat director of compliance and sustainability. “We hope the benefits of this certification brings will inspire other swordfish fisheries around the world to adopt similar measures.”
“Certification confirms the effective management already in place for this fishery and the improvements required will contribute to the knowledge and policy-guiding regulators of highly migratory species in U.S. waters and contribute to stronger international management by ICCAT that will apply more broadly,” said Kerry Coughlin, MSC regional director for the Americas.
