London – The portion of the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) fishery in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean fished by Norwegian company Aker BioMarine Co Ltd has entered the full assessment process for Marine Stewardship Council certification. If successful, Aker BioMarine products from the fishery – which include nutraceuticals and feeds for aquaculture – will be eligible to carry the MSC eco-label. 

 “For us, it is of paramount importance to harvest krill in a responsible and sustainable way. We expect to harvest 55,000 tons next year. It is all about using state-of-the-art technology to maximize the value of the biomass we harvest,” says Kjell Inge Røkke, CEO of Aker BioMarine.”

The krill fishery is managed by the international Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) which establishes conservation measures for the fishery on an annual basis. Fishing levels are set at precautionary catch limits and animals dependant on krill, such as marine mammals and birds are evaluated under the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Programme (CEMP).

Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the MSC says: “Aker BioMarine’s decision to enter the Antarctic Krill fishery for full assessment demonstrates the importance of sustainability in wild-capture fisheries beyond direct consumption by humans. Krill is a critically important species in the Antarctic food chain and Aker BioMarine’s commitment to using the most rigorous and credible assessment scheme to assess the Antarctic krill fishery highlights the value of hard science in this fishery. The full assessment will involve a team of independent specialists evaluating the fishery in a transparent, scientific and stakeholder-engaged process.”

The assessment will be carried out by independent certifiers Moody Marine. Stakeholders wishing to provide comments or information to the assessment should contact Seran Davies, Moody Marine, s.davies@moodyint.com or write to: Moody International Certification, Salisbury House, Stephenson’s Way, The Wyvern Business Park, Derby, DE21 6LY, UK

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Notes to Editors

The MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) 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 program 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.
The MSC has offices in London, Seattle, Tokyo, Sydney, The Hague, Edinburgh and Berlin.  In total, more than 120 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 35 certified, 78 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together the fisheries record annual catches of more than 5 million tons of seafood. Of fish for human consumption, they represent more than 42 percent of the world’s wild salmon catch, 42 percent of the world’s prime whitefish catch and 18 percent of the world’s lobster catch.  Worldwide, more than 1,800 seafood products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label. For more information, please visit www.msc.org