After a year-long scientific assessment the Estonian prawn fishery has achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, making it the first Estonian fishery to become MSC certified.
The trawls used by the four fishery vessels are designed to minimise bycatch through using sorting grids, which separate out other species. Permanent and temporary area closures also keep bycatch of other species to a minimum. The fishery has no impact on endangered, threatened or protected species, such as whales, seals or birds.
Mati Sarevet, fisheries director, said: “Obtaining the MSC ecolabel for sustainable fishing is a logical step in our approach to the market. Long term sustainability has always been at the heart of our company’s quality strategy, and therefore it was straightforward for us to adopt the MSC standards."
Prawns from the Barents Sea fishery are sold in Scandinavia, throughout Europe, Russia, Japan and China.
