Certified as sustainable on the 30th April 2009. 

Summary

Species: Herring (Clupea harengus)
Location: North Sea and Skagerrak; ICES divisions IV and IIIa within EEZ of Norway
Fishing methods: Pelagic trawl and Pelgaic purse-seine (scored seperately)
Vessels: According to Norges Sildesalgslag, 100 purse-seine, 27 pelagic trawlers and 84 coastal purse-seine vessels fished for North Sea herring in 2007
Number of fisheries: 1

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More about herring

This pelagic species is distributed widely throughout the North Sea. The herring’s unique habit is that it produces eggs which are attached to a gravelly matter on the seabed. This points to an evolutionary history in which herring spawned in rivers and at some later date re-adapted to the marine environment. The spawning grounds in the southern North Sea are the beds of rivers which existed in geological times and some groups of spring spawning herring still spawn in very shallow inshore waters and estuaries. Herring are mainly plankton feeders although they do eat some small fish.

More about the fishing methods

On average about 86% of the Norwegian North Sea autumn spawning herring catch originated from purse seiners, 7% from pelagic trawlers, and 7% from coastal purse seiners.

Fishery tonnage

104,563 tonnes

Commercial market

Herring caught from this fishery is mainly exported to the EU.

More information coming soon.

The fishery scored as follows in assessment against the MSC standard for sustainable fishing. The highest possible score for each principle is 100 and a fishery must score at least 80 against each principle to get certified: 

Sustainability strengths

Some points on which the fishery scored over 90 are outlined below. 

Principle 1: the state of the fish stock

• The species is readily identified by fishers and by regulators and is recorded appropriately.  The life history, including detailed information on growth and reproduction is particularly well understood as this species has been the subject of research and monitoring for many years.
• The geographical range of the species is well defined with research extending back over a century as are the spawning, nursery and feeding grounds and the migration routes linking them.
• The stocks are regularly monitored on an annual basis through a number of independent larval, juvenile and adult surveys, using a range of proven methodologies.
• All fishing methods and gear types employed in the fishery are known. In-situ observations are made of fishing practices. Comprehensive knowledge is recorded and regularly updated, on the size and composition of the fleets.
• Robust research programmes and fisheries modeling continue to support understanding of the state of the fish stock on an annual basis.

Principle 2: the impact of the fishery on the marine environment

• The fishery benefits from the excellent knowledge of the ecosystem of the region. Annual ongoing research programmes provide timely information on oceanography, plankton, fish distribution and abundance, and the interactions between these components.
• The high level of scientific interest in this species also provides quantitative information on the position and importance of the target species within the ecosystem, and their relationships within the food web at most life stages.
• As the fishing is pelagic in nature, there is no direct impact of gear on the marine environment. The possibility of accidental gear loss is also considered negligible.
• The fishery has very limited interaction with non-target species.  Discarding of any part of the catch is illegal for all Norwegian vessels.

Principle 3: the fishery management systems

• The fishery has very limited interaction with non-target species.  Discarding of any part of the catch is illegal for all Norwegian vessels.
• The management system in Norway is comprehensive and encompasses the entire herring fishery in Norwegian waters and those participating in it, including participation of fishers from other nations.
• The data gathering and assessment methodology is subject to continuous internal scientific review within ICES, with participation by scientists from many countries.
• The system observes all legal and customary rights of people dependent upon fishing under a formal codified system.
• There is an active local research programme which aims to provide scientific information to meet the requirements of management of the fishery.

Challenges

In order to ensure its continuing sustainable operation this fishery made a commitment to improving its performance where it scored between 60-80. Some of the actions the fishery has committed to are:

• Agree within the first year of certification on any necessary reporting formats for the recording of information on the nature and incidence of the slipping of catches.
• Provide evidence within two years of proactive support of research and observer monitoring of slippage.
• Agree within the first year of certification on any necessary reporting formats for the recording of information on the nature and incidence of the discarding or slippage of bycatches of North Sea herring in other pelagic fisheries.
• Provide evidence within two years of certification of proactive support of research and observer monitoring of slippage/discards of by-catches of North Sea herring in other pelagic fisheries.
• Within one year of certification provide evidence that it has promoted the setting of annual TAC for North Sea herring at or below the level advised by ICES.

The fishery: Unit of certification

The certified Norway North Sea and Skagerrak herring fishery is defined as:

Surveillance audits: First certification period 2009-2014

Surveillance 2: Completed June 2011

Annual Surveillance Report  - 28th June 2011

Stakeholder Notification: Annual surveillance audit - 29th March 2011

Surveillance 1: Completed September 2011

Surveillance report No.1 - 17th September 2010

Stakeholder Notification: Variation in the submission of Surveillance Audit report - 22nd July 2010

Stakeholder Notification: Annual surveillance audit - 9th April 2010

Stakeholder Notification: Notification of Timing of Surveillance Audit - 19th March 2010

Stakeholder Notification: Change in Certification Body - 15th October 2009

Certificates: Compliance with the MSC Principles and Criteria for Sustainable fishing

Certificate of compliance F-61406-2009 - Valid 30th April 2009 to 29th April 2014

Stage 7: Objections procedure/public certification report and certificate issue

No objections were received

Public certification report - 30th April 2009

Stakeholder Notification: Issuance of public certification report - 30th April 2009

Stage 6: Final report and determination

North Sea Herring Final Report - 8th April 2009

Stakeholder Notification: Announcement of final report and determination - 8th April 2009

Stage 5: Public review of the draft assessment report

Stakeholder Notification: Corrigenda: Amendment to target date of eligibility - 4th March 2009

Public comment draft report - 26th February 2009

Stakeholder Notification: Public comment draft report released - 26th February 2009

Stage 4: Client and peer review

Confirmation of peer reviewers - 13th November 2008

Stakeholder Notification: Peer reviewers proposed - 4 June 2008

Stage 3: Information gathering, stakeholder meetings and scoring

Stakeholder Notification: Site visits scheduled - 29 February 2008

Stage 2: Building the assessment tree

Final assessment tree - 28 March 2008

Stakeholder Notification: Revised assessment timeline - 29 February 2008

Draft assessment tree - 20 December 2007

Stakeholder Notification: Draft assessment tree released for comment - 20 December 2007

Stage 1: Fishery announcement and assessment team formation

Stakeholder Notification: Assessment team announced - 18 December 2007

Stakeholder Notification: Assessment team nominated - 14 November 2007

Stakeholder Notification: Fishery enters full assessment - 16 October 2007

Assessment timeline - 16 October 2007

Client

Norges Sildesalgslag

PO Box 7065
5020 Bergen
Norway

Contact: Knut Torgnes
Tel: +47 55 54 95 00
Mobile: +47 91 56 19 30
Email: kt@sildelaget.no

Certification Body

Det Norske Veritas (DNV)

Veritasveien 1,
1322 HØVIK,
Norway

Contact: Ms Sandhya Chaudhury
Phone: +47 40 40 04 04
Email: Sandhya.Chaudhury@dnv.com

Website: www.dnv.com

Certification Body through initial assessment:

Moody Marine International 

Moody International Certification
Salisbury House,
Stephenson’s Way,
The Wyvern Business Park,
Derby,
DE21 6LY
UK

Contact: Dr Andrew Hough
Phone: +44 1633 401092
Email: a.hough@moodyint.com