The Anglo-French Normandy and Jersey lobster (Homarus gammarus) fishery has earned Marine Stewardship Council certification, the London-based organization announced on Tuesday.
The cross-border, artisanal fishery includes about 130 small vessels catching lobsters using pots. Together, they harvest between 270 metric tons and 290 metric tons of lobsters annually.
The fishery has a long history of international management, and the Granville Bay was the subject of the first-ever international fishing treaty in 1839. The most recent agreement, signed in 2000, provides detailed framework for management by all those involved in the fishery including fishermen, scientists and administrators. The agreement has led to many measures to ensure the sustainability of the fishery, such as regulations on minimum landing size and fishing effort-controls including a limited number of vessel licenses and a maximum number of pots per vessel.
“Shellfish, particularly lobster and its management has, for decades, been well focused and a high priority issue for Jersey,” said Don Thompson, chairman of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association. “Our fisheries agreement, regular meetings and excellent relations with our Normandy neighbors with whom we share the fishery make the MSC certification a highly significant achievement and a wonderful testimony to the joint efforts invested in lobster management measures. The fishery remains our most important one and the future of our fleet relies entirely on the guaranteed sustainability of the lobster stocks.”
More than 100 fisheries worldwide are MSC-certified. On Friday, the Danish Fishermen’s Producers Organization’s (DFPO) otter trawl North Sea plaice fishery was awarded MSC certification.
