Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificates for Northeast Atlantic (NEA) mackerel fisheries will not be reinstated despite the latest scientific advice showing a healthy stock, the non-profit organization has said.
According to an announcement made by MSC, its decision to uphold the suspension was determined by several teams of independent auditors and reflects “the lack of comprehensive international agreement on quotas, threatening the long-term sustainability of the fishery.”
MSC acknowledged the industry’s hopes that a recent change in the assessment of the stock, which had raised the estimates from 2.35 million metric tons (MT) to 4.19 million MT and therefore above a healthy level, would be enough to reinstate the certificates. However, it said that the absence of a long-term management plan, combined with a lack of international agreement on stock allocation, has led to an overall uptake above the catch level recommended by International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES).
“Naturally, this will be disappointing news for the fishing industry. While the most recent scientific advice places the mackerel stock within safe biological limits, the ongoing dispute over quota allocations has led to catches repeatedly above the scientific advice. This, coupled with the lack of effective management, has led to the continued suspension of the fishery certificates,” MSC North Europe Director Hans Nieuwenhuis said.
In September 2018, ICES warned that the NEA mackerel stock had shrunk below a sustainable level. The 2018 assessment, together with the absence of an agreed management plan among all mackerel catching nations, resulted in suspension of MSC certificates on 2 March, 2019.
ICES has since revised its estimate of the mackerel stock to above sustainable levels. However, the continuing dispute over quota allocation, in combination with the absence of a long-term management strategy, has resulted in the auditors’ decision to uphold the suspension.
Nieuwenhuis said the upcoming NEA coastal states meeting on mackerel would be “a critical moment” for the fisheries and an opportunity for the mackerel fishing nations’ ministries to set collective catches in line with scientific advice.
“It is vital that the fishing nations make real progress on effective adoption and implementation of a long-term management plan to ensure a sustainable future for this important species,” he said. “Over the coming year, the independent auditors will continue to monitor the fisheries’ progress and I hope that we will see a successful agreement and adoption of a coherent and robust fisheries management plan, followed by the reinstatement of these certificates.”
Those fisheries affected by the decision are:
- ISF Iceland mackerel
- Northern Ireland Pelagic Sustainability Group (NIPSG) Irish Sea-Atlantic mackerel & North Sea herring
- MINSA North East Atlantic mackerel, made up of:
- Denmark, DPPO (Danish Pelagic Producers Organization)
- Ireland, IPSA (Irish Pelagic Sustainability Association)
- Ireland, IPSG (Irish Pelagic Sustainability Group)
- Netherlands, PFA (Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association)
- Germany, PFA (Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association)
- France, PFA (Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association)
- England, PFA (Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association)
- Poland, PFA (Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association)
- Lithuania, PFA (Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association)
- Norway, NFA (Norges Fiskarlag/Norwegian Fishermen’s Association)
- Sweden, SPFPO (Swedish Pelagic Federation Producers Organisation)
- Scotland, SPSG (Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group)
- Faroese Pelagic Organisation North East Atlantic mackerel
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
