British Columbia’s Pacific halibut fishery passed its assessment to earn Marine Stewardship Council certification for being a sustainable and well-managed fishery, the London nonprofit announced on Wednesday.
The fishery is the first in British Columbia to earn the distinction. An event celebrating the certification will be held Thursday, 8 October, at C Restaurant in Vancouver.
Between mid-March and mid-November each year, this hook-and-line fishery catches Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), a large flatfish that ranges from California to the Bering Sea and into Russian and Japanese waters.
Halibut from the fishery is available fresh or frozen as whole fish, fillets, steaks and boneless roasts; halibut cheeks are also available. British Columbia halibut is sold to the United States, Europe and throughout Canada.
The fishery has been active since the late 1880s. Since 1923 it has been managed under the International Pacific Halibut Commission, a joint U.S.-Canada fisheries management agency, along with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Scientific Certification Systems conducted the fishery assessment. The client is the Pacific Halibut Management Association of B.C. (PHMA), a fishermen’s association that represents the vast majority of commercial halibut vessel owners in British Columbia.
“We’re delighted that the B.C. halibut fishery has proven itself one of the best managed in the world by meeting the MSC standard,” said Jake van der Heide, president of the PHMA. “Our fishermen are fully accountable for their catch — both halibut and non-target species — and every vessel is monitored electronically.”
“As we continue to move toward meeting our stated initiative of sourcing all seafood sold in our stores from sustainable sources by the end of 2013, the MSC certification of the B.C. fishery will help to increase our ability to meet our customers’ desire for fresh and frozen halibut, but from a sustainable source,” said Paul Uys, VP fresh foods for Canadian retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd.
More than 150 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program, with 56 certified, more than 100 in full assessment and 40 to 50 in confidential pre-assessment. Collectively, they record annual catches of nearly 7 million metric tons of seafood. Worldwide, more than 2,500 seafood products bear the MSC eco-label.
