The Union of Fishermen of the North (UFN) has entered the Barents and Norwegian Seas cod and haddock fishery for full assessment for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.
If successful, over 114,000t of Atlantic cod and over 50,000t of Atlantic haddock will be eligible to bear the MSC ecolabel.
The fishery comprises 31 vessels ranging from 34m-94m, fishing year round using demersal trawl; and a further three vessels of 54m, using longline gear to catch cod and haddock. The fisheries take place inside the Barents and Norwegian seas at ICES Areas Ia,Ib, IIa and IIb; within coastal waters inside the Norwegian and Russian Exclusive Economic Zones, and international waters.
Olga Pokrovskaya, the UFN coordinator for the certification process says: “We are happy that after a long preparation for the assessment, we are now entering the very important public Full Assessment phase. The full assessment against MSC standards is a robust test for the sustainability of our fisheries, and the Union is prepared looks forward with confidence to go through the process”.
