The Scotian shelf shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery on Tuesday announced that it has been received Marine Stewardship Council certification.
Based in Nova Scotia, the fishery was entered into assessment by three processors, Northsyde Processing Limited, L’Association Cooperative des Pecheurs de L’lle Ltee and Produits Belle Baie Ltee.
Scotian shelf shrimp is sold as cooked and peeled northern shrimp or prawns primarily in the UK, northern Europe and parts of North America. The fishery has a total allowable catch that has averaged 5,000 metric tons in recent years. Harvesting of shrimp is open year-round, with the majority of harvesting occurring from April to October. Vessels use otter trawls with a Nordmore groundfish separator grate installed to reduce bycatch to almost negligible levels.
“MSC congratulates the three companies engaged in the Scotian shelf shrimp fishery on this achievement,” said Kerry Coughlin, MSC Americas regional director. “These companies join many in Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada demonstrating through MSC certification that are committed to sustainability.”
More than 100 fisheries worldwide are MSC certified.
