The Canadian Atlantic halibut fishery, located off the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, has earned Marine Stewardship Council certification.
The client is the Atlantic Halibut Council that represents the main associations of commercial halibut harvesters in eastern Canada. This is the first Atlantic halibut fishery to be certified by the MSC.
All the Atlantic halibut caught by Canadian harvesters using demersal long lines, demersal trawls and gill nets in Northwest Atlantic Fishing Organization fishing zones 3NOPs, 4VWX and 5Zc are included in the certification. The fishery is managed by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans with a total allowable catch of 2,200 metric tons in the quota year ending 31 March 2013 in the zones covered by the MSC certificate.
“Our great efforts to rebuild this resource over the past 10 to 15 years and strict management by DFO has been rewarded by our achievement of MSC certification for our fishery,” said Bruce Chapman, Atlantic Halibut Council executive director. “WE take pride in the cooperative effort the Atlantic Halibut Council and DFO take every year to monitor our fishery, deliver information and assess data to ensure we are cautiously managing our fishery. With significant increases in the fishery over recent years in a challenging and changing natural environment we feel MSC certification has confirmed our ability to use our knowledge to sustain our fishery for the future.”
