Pelagic Freezer-Trawler Association Atlanto-Scandian herring pelagic trawl
MSC status
Certified as sustainable in July 2010 .
Summary
Species: Herring (Clupea harengus)
Location: North East Atlantic, ICES management areas IIa and IIb.
Fishing methods: Pelagic trawl
Vessels: 26
Number of fisheries: 1
Fishery Fact Sheet
More about herring
The Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is found throughout the continental shelf waters of the North Atlantic, from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of St Lawrence off the east coast of North America, around Iceland, and from the Barents Sea to the English Channel and Celtic Sea in the NE Atlantic. Within this total distribution there are numerous more-or-less isolated or independent stocks of which the largest is the Atlanto-Scandian or Norwegian spring spawning herring stock. At various times of its life history it occupies some or all of the waters between Iceland, Norway and Spitzbergen (Svalbard).
North Sea herring spawn in coastal waters in areas where the substrate consist of gravel and small stones. The eggs are attached to the substrate and hatch after about three weeks depending on temperature. The requirement for a gravel substrate means that the spawning grounds are relatively small and well defined.
Herring is a central component in the North Sea ecosystem both as predator and as prey. Herring feeds mainly on zooplankton (copepods, mysids, euphausiids, fish egg and larvae) and juvenile fish. Herring is an important prey for most predator species including cod, saithe, whiting, mackerel, sea birds and marine mammals.
More about the fishing methods
The herring trawls are mid-water or pelagic trawls. The trawl is towed by the fishing vessel at an appropriate level below the surface to catch the herring shoals. The depth is controlled by a combination of trawling speed and wire length.
The pelagic trawls used are not designed to fish on the sea bed and any contact with the bottom involves risk of damage to the trawl. The skippers therefore operate the trawl so that there is no contact with the sea bed. As a result, there is no or very little impact on sea bed habitats when fishing with herring trawls.
Fishery tonnage
13,000 tonnes for 2011
Commercial market
All of the herring caught by the client are sold for human consumption. The main market is within the EU, with a significant proportion of sales outside the EU as well.
The landings from this fishery are in the form of blocks of frozen herring, packed in individually labelled boxes. The frozen fish are sold for subsequent processing
Actual eligibility date
29th October 2009.
