A group of Atlanto-Scandian herring fisheries are joining forces to take their fisheries through the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) re-certification process.
The fisheries involved are Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group, Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation, Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association, Swedish Pelagic Federation Producers Organisation and the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation.
“This is a really smart move by the Atlanto-Scandian herring fisheries. By working together and combining their resources into one assessment, they will see significant cost savings over working separately. This is a model that could be followed by many other fisheries where fishers use similar fishing gear to target a shared stock,” said Camiel Derichs, director, Europe, MSC.
In total, the group catches over 40,000 tonnes of herring each year.
“By working together on this assessment, our fisheries will improve further the international co-operation that is so important for managing the fishery. We will also see cost savings which will benefit all of our member vessels,” added Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation.
