Whiting biting for MSC

Pacific hake fishery enters full assessment for MSC eco-label

31st May 2007 - The joint US/Canadian Pacific hake fishery (also known as Pacific Whiting)[1] - recently the subject of a new US-Canadian treaty[2] - has entered full assessment against the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC’s)[3] standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. If successful, certified Pacific hake products from this fishery will be able to carry the MSC’s distinctive blue eco-label.

Jan Jacobs, President of the Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative explains "Fishery stakeholders decided to pursue the MSC eco-label because they believe strongly that the fishery is managed in a very responsible fashion by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Pacific Fishery Management Council, with long-term health of the resource of paramount importance.  As such, we look forward to broader recognition of this responsible management system, which the Marine Stewardship Council's certification process can provide. We are also interested in pursuing MSC certification because some major retail chains such as Wal-Mart are asking to fulfill their seafood needs from MSC certified products where possible."

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the Marine Stewardship Council says: “I am delighted to see the Pacific hake fishery entering full assessment. I am particularly pleased that this is coming about partly as a result of demand from the marketplace. This is an especially interesting fishery given its trans-boundary, international nature.” 

Jan Jacobs, continues: "Sustainable fishery management has become an important issue with seafood consumers recently, but has always been a priority for those who depend on this resource for their livelihood.  MSC certification will reassure consumers that the Pacific whiting seafood products they purchase come from sustainable and well managed fisheries

The fishery, collectively, catches around 360,000 metric tones of Pacific hake each year – a portion of which is processed at sea – and is managed under the terms of the recently-signed Pacific Hake Treaty between the US and Canada. The assessment is expected to take around 12 months and will be carried out by independent certification body Tavel Certification Inc.

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Notes to editors:

For media enquires, please contact: media@msc.org 

[1] As well as surimi, the fishery products also include fillets, H&G, mince, fishmeal, fish oil, roe, round, both fresh and frozen products.

[2]The Pacific Hake Treaty between the US and Canada was signed into law on January 12th, 2007.

[3]Marine Stewardship Council: In total, over 60 fisheries are engaged in the MSC programme. 22 fisheries are certified and 23 fisheries are in full assessment. The Pacific hake fishery is the 24th fishery to enter full assessment. In additional 20 to 30 fisheries are in the confidential pre-assessment stage. Together the fisheries record annual catches of over 3.5 million tonnes of seafood. They represent 42 percent of the world’s wild salmon catch, 32 percent of the world’s prime whitefish catch, and 18 percent of the world’s lobster catches for human consumption. Information on all fisheries in the MSC programme and up to date lists of all 600 seafood products bearing the MSC eco-label are available on the organization’s website at www.msc.org.