The Scotia-Fundy haddock fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of Canada have received Marine Stewardship Council certification.
The third-party assessment, which was conducted over 14 months, included all Canadian vessels licensed to fish in the southern Scotian Shelf and the Bay of Fundy and the Canadian portion of Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine.
Last year, about 26,000 metric tons of haddock were harvested primarily using otter trawls and long liners with hand lines and gillnets also being used. The fishery mainly supplies fresh and frozen products to markets in Canada, the United States and the EU.
The Groundfish Enterprise Allocation Council was the client for certification. Canada’s department of Fisheries and Oceans regulates the fisheries, however, for Georges Bank, the TAC for haddock is set cooperatively under bilateral agreements between Canada and the United States and each country allocates its own portion of the TAC under its own management regime.
