MSC certifies 100th fishery

The Marine Stewardship Council on Wednesday hit a milestone, certifying its 100th fishery as sustainable and well managed.

The Ocean Trawler Barents Sea cod and haddock fishery, in cooperation with Ocean Trawlers Group, lands about 87,000 metric tons of Russian cod and 34,000 metric tons of Russian haddock, which are now eligible to display the blue MSC eco-label.

The Barents Sea fisheries comprise 16 Russian vessels using demersal trawls to catch cod and haddock inside the Norwegian and Russian exclusive economic zone and in international waters. The fishery is managed by Norwegian and Russian authorities.

Atlantic cod and haddock are key components of the UK fish-and-chips market and the certified Barents Sea fisheries already supply a large part of the market, and Ocean Trawlers expect that share to rise next year. The company also expects the certification will create new opportunities for sustainable business in harvesting, processing and marketing.

“The MSC certification of the Barents Sea cod and haddock is the ultimate recognition of many years hard work to improve the transparency and sustainability of the fisheries,” said Magnus Roth, Ocean Trawlers cofounder. “In order to achieve successful certification to MSC standards, Ocean Trawlers, in close cooperation with the harvesters, has developed and implemented a number of innovative initiatives. The company will continue to work on further improvements of the cod and haddock fisheries involving appropriate scientific and environmental expertise.”