Sustainability notes

This is an overview of how the Pelagic Freezer-Trawler Association Atlanto-Scandian Herring fishery scored in assessment against the MSC standard. For the certifiers evaluation please download the full public certification report with detailed information on the performance of this fishery against the criteria of the MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing.

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 current stock level ensures a high degree of certainty that recruitment overfishing is not a risk and there a similar high level of certainty that the fishery has been running at or about its target reference point since 2004.
  
• The harvest strategy is responsive to the state of the stock and is designed to achieve stock management objectives and at current high stock levels there is little doubt that the strategy is achieving its objectives.
  
• Data essential for the effective monitoring and implementation of the Harvest Control Rule is gathered routinely and kept under constant review with respect to quantity, quality and reliability.

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

• The fleet under assessment uses a fishing strategy to minimise capture of non-target species, and any non-target species retained in the fishery count against the Total Allowable Catch for that species, ensuring that adverse impacts on the stock are accounted for.
  
• There is a high degree of confidence that this fishery does not have a significant detrimental effect on Endangered, Threatened or Protected species, and also a high degree of certainty that the effects of the fishery are within national and international requirements for protecting these species.

Principle 3: the fishery management systems

• Fishery specific objectives are explicitly defined for the target species, non-target species and Endangered, Threatened or Protected species.
• Management of the fishery is conducted under the NEAFC Convention, the Coastal States Agreement, the EC Common Fisheries Policy and national legislation.

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:  

• The fishery attained a score of over 80 against all of the Performance Indicators.