A last-minute objection has stalled the anticipated re-certification of the South African hake trawl fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
The re-certification was expected to be announced in November 2020, but an objection by the Wildlands Conservation Trust has started a formal objection process, beginning with the appointment of an independent adjudicator.
The chairman of the South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association (SADSTIA), Felix Ratheb, said that the Wildlands Conservation Trust lodged ‘a last minute technical objection to the Final Draft Report and Determination published by Lloyd’s Register in which they surprisingly claim to have been unaware of the certification process and now belatedly seek to raise questions regarding largely immaterial aspects of the draft report and determination.’
Mr Ratheb said that SADSTIA is confident that all processes have been followed correctly. “SADSTIA is participating fully in the MSC’s processes, and is confident that the objection will be properly and speedily dealt with without any impact on the fishery’s continued MSC certification, which has been held for some 16 years,” he said.
The South African trawl fishery for hake was the first hake fishery in the world to be certified by the MSC and, until the certification of the Namibian hake fishery in November 2020, was the only fishery in Africa to have achieved the MSC’s stamp of approval.
