The Juan Fernández lobster trap fishery in Chile has achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, demonstrating its lobster comes from a well-managed, environmental and sustainable source.
Pablo Manríquez and Julio Charmorro, from the fishery, said: “Obtaining this certification is recognition of our sustainable fishing practices over the last 120 years which highlights elements of traditional management, the use of passive environmentally friendly gears and collaborative efforts to collect key fisheries data.”
They pointed out that 10 years ago, recognising the lack of continuous baseline information on which to assess the status of this fishery, a monitoring programme was founded by the Juan Fernández fishers and Dr Billy Ernst of the Department of Oceanography at University of Concepcion, laying the groundwork for the successful achievement of the MSC certification.
MSC certification may well contribute to improving the livelihoods of the community of Juan Fernández which is located 400 miles from Chile’s mainland. By meeting the MSC standard, the fishery is helping to ensure future supplies of lobster as a source of revenue for the 800 inhabitants of these islands.
The fishery itself is made up of Robinson Crusoe, Santa Clara and Alexander Selkirk islands in the Juan Fernández Archipelago and the Desventuradas Islands to the north. Total landings in recent years have been approximately 100MT. Currently, China and France are the principal commercial markets for the harvest.
