Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification has been awarded to the Faroe Island North East Arctic cod and haddock fishery.
The entire Faroese fishery within the Barents Sea (ICES subareas I &II) has gained the global standard. Cod and haddock are caught by two 60m vessels, the MV Gadus and Vesturvón. The catch – caught using demersal trawls – is filleted, headed, gutted and frozen at sea. It is then transported to Faroese ports, ready to be exported to the EU.
Jógvan Hansen, general manager, JFK Ltd, said: "We are looking forward to delivering our customers frozen-at-sea MSC certified cod and haddock, because it's very important today for a company to be able to adapt with the times and this is what we at JFK have done with this certification. Furthermore, this certification will open up new markets and also allow us to build on existing markets. We are very excited to see what this has installed for us.''
Camiel Derichs, deputy director, Europe, MSC, added: “The cod and haddock stocks in the Barents Sea are in good condition and are exposed to acceptable fishing pressure. These fisheries are also selective, have low by catch rates and ecosystem impacts and are subject to solid monitoring, control and surveillance by Faroese, Norwegian and Russian authorities.”
