The North Sea and Skagerrak Saithe fishery, jointly managed by the members of the Danish Fishermen’s Producer Organisation (DFPO), has been certified as sustainable by the MSC.
Around 7,000mt of Danish saithe will now be eligible to display the blue MSC ecolabel in the market place.
The certified DFPO Denmark North Sea and Skagerrak Saithe fishery comprises around 150 vessels using seine, static nets and demersal trawls. The fishery is subject to the 2004 EU-Norway agreement and is managed according to the EU-Norway harvest control rule which was renewed in December 2008. Sea and landings inspections are carried out by EU national enforcement agencies and the Norwegian coastguard service.
The main markets for Danish saithe are Germany, Netherland, France and Spain. A small proportion of the catch is filleted in Denmark for domestic consumption.
“As fishermen, our members take pride in a good catch. Landing MSC certification for our saithe fishery is a good catch for us. It documents that we can provide top-quality seafood while making sure that the fantastic diversity of marine life in our seas remain to support the next generation of fishermen. And in this way it tells our discerning consumers that buying Danish saithe is a good catch for them as well,” says DFPO project manager Jonathan Jacobsen.
