New Zealand’s hake, ling and southern blue whiting fisheries managed by the Deepwater Group have entered assessment for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.
The Deepwater Group was formed as a non-profit organization in September 2005, from an amalgamation of fisheries quota owners in New Zealand’s Economic Exclusion Zone. Hake, Ling and southern blue whiting have been taken as non-target catch in the MSC certified hoki fishery (also managed by DWG) in the past but are now commercially targeted. The majority (over 90%) of the combined 77,000MT catch from the three fisheries is exported to Australia, Europe, Japan, Korea, South Africa and Russia.
George Clement, CEO Deepwater Group Ltd, said: “New Zealand seafood producers have experienced the benefits of MSC certification over the past seven years and are combining their efforts to bring these species into this programme to have their sustainability independently audited. This is part of a staged approach toward ensuring world markets recognise the success of New Zealand’s fisheries management programmes”
Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the MSC added: “I very much welcome this latest strategic move by the Deepwater Group to enter three more New Zealand fisheries into the MSC assessment process. I am also delighted to hear that the producers have been experiencing commercial benefits from the certification of the Hoki fishery. That is how the MSC programme is designed to work – to identify well managed and sustainable fisheries, provide them with the means to demonstrate their sustainability to the market, and critically, to create the market incentives to reward such practice. I congratulate the Deepwater Group and fisheries managers in New Zealand for adopting this strategic approach to fisheries certification and hope that these assessments, under MSC’s revised Fisheries Assessment Methodology, will progress smoothly.
