Dover sole fishery earns FOS approval

Dutch Dover sole fishery Noordzee Vissers Consortium on Tuesday announced it has earned Friend of the Sea certification, the first sole fishery to do so.

The small scale fishery is composed of six gillnet vessels operating out of the ports of Ymuiden, den Helder and Lauwersoog and fishing near the Dutch coast and islands from March to October. Only mature fish are caught, and 90 percent of the juvenile bycatch is thrown back to sea alive. The bycatch consists mainly of turbot and limandes, a type of dab.

The fishery’s vessels do not harm the seabed and their fuel efficiency is high; their fuel consumption as low as 10 percent of their counterpart’s. Appropriate waste management and social accountability were also recorded during the audit.

“We have approached Friend of the Sea as we felt our efforts over the years for leading sustainable fishing practices had to be awarded appropriately,” said Yvonne Bakker-Romkes, R&D and quality director for Noordzees. “The audit was very strict and demanding and we are glad we were found compliant. Friend of the Sea is opening up new international markets to us and recognizes the social values historically embedded in our fishery community.”

Friend of the Sea has also certified Norway prawns, Irish albacore, Croatian anchovies, Azorean tuna and demersal species fisheries.

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