The Arkhangelsk Trawl Fleet (ATF) - one of the biggest fisheries in Russia’s Pomorye region (White Sea coast and surrounding areas) – has been certified to the Marine Stewardship (MSC) Fisheries Standard.
Cod and haddock from this fishery can now be sold with the blue MSC ecolabel, indicating that it comes from a sustainable, well-managed source.
Since 1920, the ATF has been providing Russian consumers with fish and fish products, and is one of the oldest fleets in the North of Russia. The fishery, which uses demersal trawls, has five vessels and operates inside the Barents and Norwegian seas.
Sergey Nesvetov, executive director of the ATF said, “Through the process of becoming MSC certified, we’ve learnt a lot about the environmental problems that exist in our traditional fishing areas in the Barents and Norwegian Seas. For us, MSC certification is not only a means to access new markets, but an opportunity to work in collaboration with stakeholders to improve the marine environment especially in the northern seas.”
In 2014, the annual quota was set at 30,803 tonnes for cod and 5,296 tonnes for haddock. The main products from this fishery are frozen-at-sea cod and haddock (headed and gutted) and cod and haddock fillets.
Camiel Derichs, MSC regional director Europe said, “Atlantic cod and haddock are in great demand in the global whitefish markets, and in Russia as well. Various international fisheries targeting cod and haddock in North-East Atlantic are already MSC certified. It is therefore a great accomplishment that JSC Arkhangelsk Trawl Fleet have now also successfully become certified.
“We are proud to see ATF join the many other fisheries working hard to protect our marine ecosystems. We look forward to seeing the first MSC ecolabelled products from this fishery on the markets”.
Acoura Marine Limited carried out the assessment of the fishery over 15 months and said that the ATF worked hard to meet the standards required.
