The certifier for the Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG) West of Scotland herring fishery has suspended the fishery’s MSC certificate.
This follows ICES' decision that the West of Scotland and West of Ireland herring stocks should be treated as a single, inseparable stock.
Ian Gatt, from the SPSG, said, “Scottish pelagic fishermen have built a strong history of fishing sustainably with a wide range of MSC certified catches.”
He added, “The suspension of this certificate is a blow, however, we’re working hard to resolve the situation by collecting additional scientific data and we will input into the recovery plan for this larger area.”
The combined stock is below sustainable levels and therefore no longer meets the MSC’s requirements for a sustainable fish stock.
Any SPSG West of Scotland herring caught after midnight on Friday 12 February 2016 can no longer be labelled as MSC certified.
The SPSG now has 90 days to prepare an action plan to address the conditions that relate to addressing issues around harvest strategy and control rules, in order to prevent the certificate from being withdrawn.
Claire Pescod, fisheries outreach manager for the MSC, concluded, “The Scottish fishermen will have their certificate suspended through no direct fault of their own. Hopefully, the herring stock in the combined fisheries will be able to recover to the point where the certificate can be reinstated.”
