The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has announced the conclusion of the two and a half year scientific review of the South Georgia Patagonian toothfish longline fishery, against the standard set by the MSC''s Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Fishing.
A respected panel convened to review an objection to the fishery's certification under the MSC programme has completed its work and recommends that the fishery be certified albeit with a number of improvements, which must be made over time in order for the fishery to maintain its certified status
Illegal fishing concerns
Globally, 17 countries are involved in fishing for Patagonian toothfish which has made national headlines in the past year because of environmentalists' concerns of overfishing caused primarily by illegal fishing.
Patagonian toothfish is sold in the US as Chilean Sea Bass, in Japan as Mero, in Mauritius as Butterfish and in Chile as Bacalao de Profundidad.
The worldwide legal catch of Patagonian toothfish in 2000 is estimated by some to be 15,000 metric tonnes with the total harvest possibly exceeding 90,000 metric tonnes.
The Chief Executive of the MSC, Brendan May, has declared his is intention to step down by the end of this year.
Brendan May has been MSC's Chief Executive for five years. He said: "The MSC's work will go on for years, even decades. There is so much more to do on the issue of the global fishing. However, my fulll time job here is done.º
