The Northeastern longfin inshore squid fishery, located in the Northwestern Atlantic along the coast of the United States, has become the first squid fishery in the world to achieve MSC certification.
Two companies – Lund’s Fisheries, in Cape May, New Jersey, U.S.A.; and The Town Dock, in Point Judith, Rhode Island, U.S.A. – jointly fulfilled the requirements to get the certification. The Town Dock represents the largest supplier of calamari in the United States, and the state of Rhode Island landed 10,329 metric tons of squid in 2016, according to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
“All of us at The Town Dock are excited to be part of such a historic initiative,” said Ryan Clark, CEO of The Town Dock. “Our goal has always been to provide customers with a healthy and sustainable product. By certifying longfin squid, we hope to take the promise of sustainability a step further by protecting the fishery to ensure consumers have access to squid now and for many years to come.”
Longfin inshore squid, also known as “loligo” squid, have a short lifespan of less than a year. They spawn year-round, and migrate between inshore and offshore waters.
Lund’s said the certification is an indication that the fishery management programs have been working.
“We are excited to build additional trust with our customers through MSC’s certification of our longfin squid fishery,” said Wayne Reichle, President of Lund’s Fisheries. “This certification demonstrates that our domestic fisheries management system is working to sustainably manage our major squid fishery to the benefit of the resource, fishing communities, and calamari lovers everywhere.”
The two companies have been pursuing the certification since July 2017, and recently started the peer review stage of the assessment. Town Dock’s director of marketing, Patrick Maness, said consumer drive was a large part of moving towards MSC certification.
“The market is demanding to know that the food that they’re consuming is from a sustainable resource,” he said. “When you procure more squid than anyone else, it makes sense that you would be the one to lead the charge.”
The two companies are also planning to immediately pursue a scope extension, via an expedited assessment of the Northern shortfin squid small mesh bottom trawl fishery, according to a release from MSC. The fishery will be certified until 2023, and will undergo annual audits within that time.
“We are thrilled to congratulate the fishery for becoming the first squid fishery in the world to attain MSC certification,” said Brian Perkins, MSC’s Regional Director for the Americas. “This achievement is an acknowledgement and testimony to the great work that the fishers are doing to ensure that they fish responsibly, and will have the resource available for generations to come.”
