Scallop fishery earns MSC certification

The Marine Stewardship Council on Thursday announced that the Eastern Canada offshore sea scallop harvest has attained certification as a sustainable, well-managed fishery.

The fishery, which extends from Georges Bank to the Eastern Scotian Shelf and St. Pierre Bank, is the first North American sea scallop fishery to earn the distinction. While the fleet markets some fresh scallops, frozen-at-sea, individually quick frozen (IQF) scallops account for nearly 60 percent of annual landings.

The scallops are harvested using the New Bedford scallop rake or dredge. Over the past six years, the fishery has yielded an average of 6,300 metric tons of shucked scallops annually.

Five companies — Adams and Knickle , Clearwater Seafoods, Comeau's Sea Foods, LaHave Seafoods and Ocean Choice International — served as the clients for the assessment, which was conducted by Moody Marine. The group was organized by the Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia (SPANS).

"The clients are very pleased," said Roger Stirling, president of SPANS. "The certificate affirms the sustainable management of the fishery."

On 15 March during the International Boston Seafood Show, the U.S. Atlantic sea scallop dredge fishery, the largest of its kind in the world, announced that it entered full assessment in the MSC program.

Last week, the Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group's Atlanto-Scandian herring fishery netted MSC certification. Overall, more than 180 fisheries worldwide are engaged in the MSC program, with 66 certified. More than 3,800 seafood products bear the MSC eco-label.

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