First Spanish fishery nets MSC certification

Pescafria-Pesquera Rodriguez has been awarded sustainable certification under the Marine Stewardship Council program, making it the first Spanish fishery and the first EU Barents Sea cod fishery to be awarded the distinction.

The announcement comes on the heels of the first Spanish retailer, El Corte Ingles, offering MSC-labeled seafood.

The northeast Arctic cod is marketed under the Pescafria brand, and the organization holds 27.5 percent of the Spanish cod quota, or about 4,000 metric tons. The UK is the company’s major market for frozen cod fillet, but it also exports to France, Holland, Norway and Portugal. A small part of its production, including salt cod and frozen cod fillets, is marketed in Spain.

“Getting MSC certification consolidates our position in export markets increasingly aware of the need to consume wild fishery seafood products, which are the only really sustainable products,” said Francisco Rodriguez, manager of Pescafria-Pesquera Rodriguez. “Contrary to what we usually hear, and thanks to proper management over the years, cod stocks in the Arctic Ocean are actually at record numbers. This guarantees supplies of a fish which plays such a major role in our gastronomic traditions for future generations.”

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