Norwegian Offshore North East Arctic Cod will be recertified from 15 August 2021 while inshore North East Arctic cod will no longer be MSC certified, the Marine Stewardship Council has confirmed.
Previous MSC certifications included the inshore and offshore stocks of North East Arctic cod, but the fishery client, Norges Fiskarlag, decided to apply for reassessment to the MSC Fisheries Standard for its offshore fishing only.
The certification follows an objection process that ended last month after a thorough consultation between Norges Fiskarlag, the conformity assessment body (DNV) and the objector (WWF).
The agreement between the parties included that Norges Fiskarlag, commit to an action plan to review alternative measures to further reduce bycatch of golden redfish and contribute to the rebuilding of the stock.
The accepted proposals have now been implemented by DNV for the cod fishery outside 12 nautical miles, which has been welcomed by Tor Björklund Larsen, senior advisor at Fiskarlaget. “Meanwhile, we are already in an ongoing reassessment preparation process for the inshore component of the fishery, and are engaged with the Institute of Marine Research and our management authorities to solve the ongoing challenge with the coastal cod stock,” he said.
“Our clear goal is to see the MSC certificates reinstated for inshore cod and haddock very soon,” he added.
