An objection to the outcome of an independent assessment of the Sustainable Swordfish LLC (SSLLC) US North Atlantic swordfish longline fishery has been filed.

Xiphias gladius at market. Credit: Citron/CC-BY-SA-3.0 - Own work/Via Wikimedia Commons

Xiphias gladius at market. Credit: Citron/CC-BY-SA-3.0 - Own work/Via Wikimedia Commons

Intertek Fisheries Certification’s (IFC) assessment determined that the fishery meets the criteria required to be certified to the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) standard for sustainable fishing, but registered stakeholder Day Boat Seafoods has challenged this outcome on issues of harmonisation of fishery assessments covering the same stock, condition-setting, and peer review and public comment.

The MSC will now refer the objection to an Independent Adjudicator (IA) who will review the objection and decide whether there is sufficient merit to move forward. To make this decision, which is completely independent of the MSC, the IA will review material submitted by the objector, the fishery and the certifier and may hold a hearing involving these parties.

The certification concerns swordfish (Xiphias gladius) caught by pelagic longline in the fishery along the Western Atlantic coast from Newfoundland, Canada to Florida USA, FAO area 21 & 31.

Due to the highly migratory nature of the species under consideration, Atlantic swordfish are managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

The product is sold as fresh swordfish in the US and consumed in restaurants and homes.

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