Norway's North Sea and North East Arctic saithe harvests became the country's first fisheries, and the world's first saithe fisheries, to be certified as well managed and sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Now more than 120 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program - 30 are certified, 72 are undergoing assessment and another 20 to 30 are in confidential pre-assessment, says the London-based nonprofit.
Four other Norwegian fisheries - Domstein Longliner Partners North East Arctic cod and haddock, North East Atlantic mackerel, North Sea and Skagerrak herring and Norwegian spring spawning herring - are currently in assessment.
"This is a milestone," says MSC CEO Rupert Howes. "Potentially, 266,000 tons of saithe are now certified, providing a major new supply of certified sustainable whitefish. This is great news for the fisheries and great news for retailers, processors and consumers who are increasingly demanding sustainable seafood choices."
"Norwegian fisheries management is globally recognized as first class, but this is the first Norwegian fishery to achieve a certificate from an independent third party," adds Audun Maråk, CEO of the Norwegian Fishing Vessels Owners Association, which applied for certification of the saithe fisheries.
Moody Marine of the United Kingdom was the third-party certifier.
Nearly 1,500 seafood products worldwide are certified to bear the MSC eco-label.
