Sustainability notes

This is an overview of how the Pelagic Freezer-Trawler Association North East Atlantic mackerel pelagic trawl fishery scored in assessment against the MSC standard. For the certifiers evaluation please download the full public certification report (LINK) 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 stock is highly likely to be above the point at which recruitment would be impaired. Fishing mortality is well below the point at which recruitment overfishing would occur.
  
• Reference points are appropriate and have been carefully calculated or estimated based on reasonable and justifiable assumptions.  The biomass limit reference point is well above the lowest SSB observed in the time series and there is no evidence of any impaired recruitment over that period.
  
• A robust stock assessment procedure is in place.  The age and sex structure of the stock is monitored as part of the stock assessment so as to detect any impairment of reproductive capacity.
  
• Technical measures are in place to prevent impacts of the fishery on the currently depleted North Sea component of the Western mackerel stock.
  

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

• The pelagic trawl fishing gear used has very limited interaction with benthic habitats. 
  
• The fishery is highly targeted and the effects of the fishery on the wider biological diversity are within acceptable limits.
  

Principle 3: the fishery management systems

• The management system for this fishery is consistent with all relevant laws, and is aimed at achieving sustainable fisheries in accordance with MSC Principles 1 & 2. It includes transparent, effective and tested mechanisms for resolving legal disputes, and contains formal commitments to respect the legal rights of people dependent on fishing. 
  
• Clear operational procedures exist for meeting fishery objectives, through regular inspection of landings and other feedback systems.
  
• The fishery resource and the effects of the fishery are regularly monitored and assessed by ICES.  Full details of these assessments are made publicly available.
  
• The management system includes effective decision-making processes that result in measures and strategies to achieve the objectives.  Procedures exist for reductions in harvest in light of monitoring results on an annual basis. 
  

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:  

• Harvest control rules and tools:  The assessment team noted that while the stock is in good condition, the harvest control rules in place do not fully constrain fishing practices such as discarding, high-grading and slippage of the target species in the directed fishery or in other pelagic fisheries in the area.  PFA should record all incidents of incidental fishery-related mortality within its fleet (such as discarding, high-grading or slippage), and develop measures to reduce them, in both the directed mackerel fishery and other pelagic fisheries, either through company policies and procedures or fishing practices. These records and measures should be communicated to national scientific and management bodies in each of the countries that the PFA operates in.
  
• ETP Species –Information:  Interactions between the fishery and ETP species are currently thought to be at a low level, but there is evidence that interactions may have been more frequent in the past.  Action should be taken to ensure that the fishery meets national and international standards for protection of ETP species, and that it does not pose a risk of serious or irreversible harm to them; nor, where appropriate should it hinder their recovery.  To provide reassurance that interactions are infrequent, and to guide future management as appropriate, better information is needed to ensure that interactions remain at a low level. This information should allow the effect of interactions on individual animals and also on populations of ETP species to be determined.
• ETP Species –Management:  Action should also be taken to ensure that the fishery meets national and international standards for protection of ETP species, and that it does not pose a risk of serious or irreversible harm to them; nor, where appropriate should it hinder their recovery. The client should agree and implement appropriate precautionary management strategies which would result in low levels of ETP capture wherever this is identified as a significant issue by appropriate national management and scientific bodies.