Mackerel fishery makes move for MSC mark

London, 08 February 2008 - The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) [1] is pleased to announce that the Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association (PFA) [2] North East Atlantic mackerel fishery has applied for assessment to the MSC standard for sustainable fishing. The assessment will be carried out by third-party certifier Moody Marine and a team of independent experts. If the application is successful the fishery may market its catch with MSC’s internationally recognised eco-label and thus demonstrate to consumers that it operates in a responsible and sustainable manner.

Gerard van Balsfoort, President of the PFA, says: “The MSC is conquering the market. After PFA’s herring fleet was certified in 2006 there was no real discussion about whether to seek certification for the mackerel fleet or not. It just seemed the obvious thing to do.”

The Chief Executive of the MSC Rupert Howes adds: “I am delighted that PFA are sending in their second fishery to get MSC-certified. Market demand for MSC-certified and labelled seafood is growing and several fisheries have successfully used their certifications to win new markets, gain 'preferred supplier status' in existing markets and, in some instances, to win a higher price for their certified catch. Most importantly, the ecological case for certification is also growing. Given the momentum we are now seeing in terms of new fisheries coming forward into full assessment major seafood markets around the world should be able to look forward to a greater range and diversity of sustainable seafood choices over the coming years. This is good news for the industry, the environment and seafood consumers.”

The PFA pelagic fleet holds about one quarter of the EU’s total 2008 mackerel quota of 234,000 metric tonnes. The pelagic trawl vessels target mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel and the waters around Ireland and the Northern North Sea. PFA’s members are based in the Netherlands, the UK, France, Lithuania and Germany and all of PFA’s 26 vessels will be part of the assessment. A large part of the fleet’s mackerel catch is sold for smoking in the EU. The remainder is exported to non-EU nations, for example in Africa.

ENDS

Further information:
Marnie Bammert, MSC Communications Officer, tel. +44 (0) 20 7811 3314 or +44 (0) 7917 821 207, email: marnie.bammert (at) msc.org.
James Simpson, MSC Communications Officer, tel. +44 (0) 20 7811 3315, email: james.simpson (at) msc.org.

Notes to Editors:
[1] The MSC is an international non-profit organisation that was set up in 1997 to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. The MSC runs the only widely recognised environmental certification and eco-labelling programme for wild capture fisheries. It is the only seafood eco-label that is consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and UN FAO guidelines for fisheries certification. The FAO ‘Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries’, require that credible fishery certification and eco-labelling schemes include:

- Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilising scientific evidence;
- Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
- Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

[2] Please visit http://www.pfa-frozenfish.com/ for more information on PFA.

[3] In total, over 90 fisheries are engaged in the MSC programme with 26 certified, 63 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together the fisheries in the MSC programme record annual catches of over 5 million tonnes of seafood. They represent over 42 percent of the world’s wild salmon catch, 40 percent of the world’s prime whitefish catch, and 18 percent of the world’s lobster catches for human consumption. Worldwide, over 1,100 seafood products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label. For more information, please visit www.msc.org.