MSC workshop to examine Low Trophic Level Fisheries
30 September 2009
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is holding a workshop as part of a wider process to examine best practice in the management of low trophic level fisheries and to review the assessment of low trophic level species within the MSC Fisheries Assessment Methodology (FAM).
The workshop will be held in Washington DC over the 1st and 2nd of October and will be attended by a range of stakeholders, including members of the MSC Low Trophic Level Fisheries Working Group (made up of Board and Technical Advisory Board members Dr Euan Dunn, Kees Lankester, Dr Keith Sainsbury and Dr Tony Smith), as well as international scientists, experts in the management of these fisheries and industry representatives.
Kees Lankester, a member of the MSC Board of Trustees and consultant for fisheries management and ocean wildlife said: “We need to ensure that the MSC assessment process is consistent with global best management practice of all fisheries, including those on low trophic level species. The workshop provides an important initial opportunity to meet with our stakeholders and global experts in the field to jointly explore the specific characteristics for the management of these fisheries.”
“We expect that the scientific exchange and stakeholder input, together with modelling work already underway, will provide us with the necessary information to carefully review how these fisheries should best progress through an MSC assessment process.” The workshop is the first of two being carried out. After a second workshop is held in mid 2010 the working group will report back to the full MSC Technical Advisory Board and Board of Trustees on the findings of their review.
Modelling work on impact of MSC fisheries
Alongside the workshops, the MSC has contracted a group of international scientists to carry out modelling work to evaluate the impact of an MSC standard compliant fishery on ecosystem dynamics. The modelling work will encompass key ecosystems including the Californian current, the Benguela current, the North Sea and the Peruvian upwelling and will utilise a range of best-practice ecosystem models, including Ecoism, Osmose and Atlantis. Interim results of this work will be presented to the Board and Technical Advisory Board in December, with full results available by June 2010.
About Low Trophic Level Fisheries
Low Trophic Level Fisheries: sometimes referred to as ‘forage fisheries’ or ‘reduction fisheries’, the MSC uses the terminology low trophic level fisheries to describe stocks of usually small species that are preyed upon by larger species. While most forage or prey species would be classified as low trophic level, not all low trophic level species may be forage species.
Further information
For further information please contact media@msc.org.
