The Marine Stewardship Council has decided to continue a suspension of its certificate for the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery in Canada.
An audit performed by SAI Global has found that there is insufficient evidence that the measures currently being taken to reduce the fishery’s impacts on the endangered North Atlantic right whale are effective enough to retain the MSC certification. While the fishery has taken measures to avoid entanglements – which have been shown to be a cause of multiple whale deaths – direct effects of those entanglements are likely to hinder the recovery of the whales, according to the audit.
The certification was initially suspended in March 2018 after 13 North Atlantic right whales were found dead in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, of which, three could be attributed directly to entanglements with fishing gear.
The whales remain one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world, with just over 400 individuals remaining. As a result of the suspension, when the fishery opens in April crab landings in areas 12, 12E, 12F, which forms the bulk of Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence below the St. Laurentian Channel; and landings in Area 19 off the West Coast of Cape Breton; cannot carry the MSC label.
According to a release by the MSC, in order to lift the suspension the fishery must provide scientific evidence that the fishery does not hinder the recovery of endangered species, and that the measures in place are both highly likely to achieve national requirements for the protection of endangered, threatened and protected species “while considering that to reverse the declining trend of the North Atlantic right whale population, medium-long term benefits from these measures cannot be guaranteed based on a single season of protection measures.”
“We commend the GOSL snow crab fishery and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the incredible collective effort put forth to address impacts on the critical health of the North Atlantic right whale population,” Jay Lugar, MSC program director for Canada, said. “The reduced entanglements and absence of mortalities in the 2018 fishing season are testaments to this work and we remain optimistic that continued efforts will demonstrate the fishery’s ability to once again meet the MSC Standard. We wish them every success.”
While the certificate is suspended, it is not being withdrawn, the MSC stated.
“Certificate suspensions can be lifted upon completion of a Corrective Action Plan by the fishery and acceptance by the independent certifier that the fishery once again meets the MSC Standard,” the MSC wrote in a release. “Under the terms of the suspension, annual surveillance audits are still required and the certificate will remain suspended until the issue is resolved.”
