Three Western Australian fisheries are set to undertake Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) full assessment.
Western Australia’s wild catch abalone fishery and Pilbara and Kimberley trap fisheries have all recently signed contracts seeking certification. It will take 12-18 months for the fisheries to be fully assessed.
“WA has a global reputation for the quality of its fisheries’ management,” said Western Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) chief executive officer, John Harrison. “The State’s rock lobster fishery was the world’s first to achieve MSC certification in 2000 and also the first to subsequently be recertified three times.”
He also mentioned the certification of Austral for its Glacier 51 toothfish and Skull island prawns; the certification last year of the State’s two biggest prawn fisheries; and the Peel Harvey Estuarine fishery – the first combined recreational and commercial fishery in the world to apply for full assessment – which has just achieved MSC certification. He expects that WA’s pearl oyster fishery and its deep sea crab fishery will also achieve certification in the near future.
“So it is extremely gratifying to see that another three of the State’s 47 commercial fisheries raising the bar for sustainable fisheries management” said Mr Harrison. He said that applying for full assessment was the first step in a long and rigorous process designed to achieve environmental, social, and marketing benefits by meeting the MSC’s rigorous benchmarks.
“Achieving MSC certification gives seafood consumers and the broader community confidence that the relevant fishery is managed to world’s best practice in terms of the environment and the long-term sustainability and viability of stocks,” he said.
