The Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group announced today that its mackerel fishery was certified as well managed and sustainable under the Marine Stewardship Council program.
The SPSG mackerel fishery is Scotland's most valuable and largest fishery, catching 95,700 metric tons of fish in 2007. SPSG encompasses all 25 of Scotland's pelagic fishing vessels and all pelagic processors.
Smoked, frozen and fresh mackerel from the fishery will soon be on sale bearing the MSC eco-label.
"This is a welcome boost and further evidence that one of our most valuable stocks is being managed sustainably," says Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead. "The fact our fishermen will be able to land extra mackerel next year is just reward for their efforts in driving forward tough conservation measures. Mackerel was worth almost £80 million last year, but is worth many times more than that when the economic spin-offs from the mackerel processing industry are taken into account."
More than 140 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program, with 39 certified, 86 under assessment and 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Collectively, the fisheries record annual landings of more than 5 million metric tons.
