The Pelagic Freezer-Trawler Association (PFA) North Sea herring fishery celebrates the start of the 2011 season with its successful re-certification against the MSC standard for sustainable fisheries.
Gerard van Balsfoort, PFA-president is pleased to see the sustainability of the North Sea herring fishery re-affirmed: “Over the past five years there has been an amazing development in the North Sea herring stock. North Sea herring experienced low recruitment rates, due to natural fluctuations, to which the management response was a radical reduction of the quota for a couple of years. We supported that approach and now we see a recovered stock in good shape and the fishing quotas are increasing again. The example of North Sea herring shows that it is possible to keep an MSC certificate as long as a fishery is willing to adapt its management to the variations in the stock.”
