Two thirds of the total catch of North East Atlantic blue whiting has achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for sustainable fishing practices.
In order to achieve the certification, fishers from Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland and France have all worked in collaboration.
“I am very pleased that the members of the five fisheries organisations have received MSC certification for the Northeast Atlantic Blue Whiting fishery,” said Gerard van Balsfoort, from the Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association (PFA) who coordinated and represented the client group during the certification process.
He continued: “It once again underlines the long term commitment and cooperation of the EU pelagic fleets in ensuring sustainable fisheries management and selective fishing practices.”
The combined fleet of 72 vessels pursue the same target stock of blue whiting, using pelagic (midwater) trawl, which is a very selective fishing method in terms of the fish species it captures.
Echosounding equipment can enable skippers to identify blue whiting from its characteristic signal type, depth and location.
The group consists of the Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association (NL, UK, DE, F, LT), Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation, Killybegs Fishermen´s Organisation Ltd (IRL), Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group Ltd (UK) and Compagnie des Peches de Saint Malo (F).
Blue whiting is a cod-like fish most commonly around 25cm long. It is found in a depth range of 150 to 3000m, but most commonly at 300-400m and is distributed widely throughout the North-eastern Atlantic. Stocks have been steadily increasing since 2011.
The MSC certification is valid for five years and the assessment has been carried out by independent auditors from ME Certification ltd.
