Canada northern prawn

Kyllej — 2008-03-11T09:05:00Z

Certified as sustainable on 5 August 2008.

Summary

Species: (Pandalus borealis)
Location: Atlantic Canadian Waters
Fishing methods: Otter trawl
Vessels: The inland fishery consists of 395 multiple species enterprises in the range of 50-65 feet, though some inland vessels are smaller, and larger vessels are permitted with recent regulatory changes.
Number of fisheries: 1

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More about Canada northern prawn

This species is usually found in areas with soft, muddy sediment where temperatures range from 1-6°C and depths range from 150-600 metres. The northern prawn is a hermaphrodite, maturing as a male at age 2, then mating for 2-3 years before changing sex and spending the rest of its lifespan as a female. The prawn spawn in the autumn and the females carry the eggs until April/May when they hatch and the pelagic larvae are released. During the day time the prawn feed on or near the bottom. At night, the prawns especially the males migrate vertically to feed on zooplankton. The northern prawn are heavily predated on by several ground fish species and harp seals.

More about the fishing methods

The wide distribution of prawn fishing occurs because prawn are abundant over a vast area from southern Nova Scotia to Baffin Island. Prawn trawlers work the muddy bottoms using otter trawls with a minimum mesh size of 40 mm, and fitted with a Nordmore separator grate. Prawn pass through the grate, but ground fish with swim bladders are directed upwards towards an exit triangle in the upper panel. This grate is mandatory in all the fishing areas. Fishers fit either bobbins or rubber discs to the groundrope, which is linked to the leading lower edge of the net by vertical toggle chains. The latter enable the net to ‘fly’ clear of the bottom so that flatfish disturbed by the groundrope can pass below the net entrance. This does not seem to affect the catchability of the net for prawn, which seem to be less closely associated with the seafloor.

Fishery tonnage

68,000 tonnes

Commercial market

The inshore fleet focuses on the shell-off cooked and peeled product, which is primarily processed on land. Predominant markets are in the US and Europe.

Meet the fishers

Jessica Wenban-Smith — 2008-05-28T15:25:00Z

Meet the Canada northern prawn fishers

With an annual catch of more than 177.7 million pounds (80.6 million kg.), the Canadian northern prawn trawl fishery is now the largest MSC-certified coldwater shrimp fishery in the world.

The primary market for this fishery is the United Kingdom, with other major markets including continental Europe, the United States and other international markets.

As a coldwater shrimp, the northern prawn (Pandalus borealis), is smaller than tropical shrimp but is well known for its sweet, highly flavorful meat.

The fishery is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) with numerous management measures to ensure a well-managed fishery. For example, vessels in the fishery utilize otter trawls fitted with Nordmore separator grates which ensure reduced bycatch as fish pass through the grate and escape from the trawl. The fishery runs from mid-spring to early fall. Raw material is landed fresh to processing facilities around the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, where it is produced in single frozen, cooked and peeled format.

The Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) represents industry producers Barry Group Inc., Fogo Island Co-Op Society Ltd., Notre Dame Seafoods Inc., Nu Sea Products Inc. (BGI), Ocean Choice International L.P., Northern Shrimp Ltd (OCI) and St. Anthony Seafoods Limited Partnership (Clearwater). These companies all hold MSC Chain of Custody certification, meaning that consumers will soon be able to identify sustainable Canadian northern prawn products by the blue MSC eco-label on their packages—and that these products will be fully traceable through the supply chain to the MSC-certified fishery.

Derek Butler, executive director of the Association of Seafood Producers, which holds the MSC certification for this fishery, has commented, “I want to compliment our Member-Producers, MSC and other stakeholders for working together to ensure this achievement. I am proud of their work and this certification, particularly given what it represents for this fishery in terms of sustainability, viability and market positioning.”

Sustainability notes

Kyllej — 2008-03-03T12:10:00Z

This is an overview of how the Canada northern prawn fishery 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:

Fishery areas 5, 6, 7 (Download full public certification report here)

MSC Principle	Fishery Performance
Principle 1: Sustainability of Exploited Stock	Overall: 92, Pass
Principle 2: Maintenance of Ecosystem	Overall: 80, Pass
Principle 3: Effective Management System	Overall: 80, Pass

Fishery areas 13, 14, 15 (Download full public certification report here)

MSC Principle	Fishery Performance
Principle 1: Sustainability of Exploited Stock	Overall: 92, Pass
Principle 2: Maintenance of the Ecosystem	Overall: 80, Pass
Principle 3: Effective Management System	Overall: 80, Pass

Sustainability strengths

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

Principle 1: the state of the fish stock

The stock has increased substantially over time and is above the long term mean and any imaginable biomass limit reference point. This situation is expected to continue at least over the short to medium term. Changes in temperature and predation pressure could potentially change the prognosis, but at the present there is no indication of this in the short to medium timescale.

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

Accurate and verifiable information is available to indicate that discarding is at a very low rate in this fishery; essentially all catch is landed.
Overall, appropriate information is available on the most important bycatch species including good information on their distribution and ecology, although information is less detailed for species occurring with low frequency in bycatches.
Fishing gear is rarely lost during fishing operations; gear is so expensive that if lost, substantial efforts are made to retrieve the gear.

Principle 3: the fishery management systems

Accurate and verifiable information is available to indicate that discarding is at a very low rate in this fishery; essentially all catch is landed
Overall, appropriate information is available on the most important bycatch species including good information on their distribution and ecology, although information is less detailed for species occurring with low frequency in bycatches.
Fishing gear is rarely lost during fishing operations; gear is so expensive that if lost, substantial efforts are made to retrieve the gear.

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:

Within the second year of certification:

(a) Based on existing information, the spatial distribution of fishing effort should be documented.

(b) Existing data should be compiled and used to map seabed habitats and, where possible, associated species.

Within the third year of certification:

(c) Based on the initial assessments above, develop a program to fill key knowledge gaps.

(d) Review information on the sensitivity of the identified seabed habitats and associated species.

(e) Compile information from existing studies of gear impacts on the identified seabed habitats.

(f) Using information from a, b, c, d, e above, assess the likely impacts of the fishery - taking into account extent, timing and location.

(g) Assess the acceptability of the current impacts of the fishery on habitat structure.

(h) Assess the acceptability of current impacts on biological diversity, community structure, and productivity.

(i) Review the effectiveness of existing policies, operating procedures and codes of conduct for coral conservation.

Within the fourth year of certification:

(j) If appropriate, using the information and outcomes from the above, new management strategies should be outlined and measures implemented to detect and minimise ecosystem impacts of the fishery and to ensure that key elements of the ecosystem are protected. In particular, the suitability of no-take zones and closed areas / seasons should be reviewed, and implemented and enforced if and where appropriate

Unit of certification

Kyllej — 2008-03-03T12:10:00Z

The unit of certification is the unit that is assessed by certifiers against the MSC environmental standard. It is defined as the fishery or fish stock (a biologically distinct unit) combined with the fishing method/gear and practice (the vessel/s) pursuing that stock. This is set at the beginning of the assessment.

The fishery: Unit of certification

The certified northern canada prawn fishery is defined as:

Species	Pandalus borealis
Geographical range of fishing operations	The 'Northern Shrimp Fishery ' in Shrimp Fishing Areas (SFA) 5, 6, 7
Method of capture	Otter Trawl
Stock	SFA 5, 6, 7
Management	DFO led management, through St Johns Newfoundland supported by an Advisory Committee
Client group	Association of Seafood Producer (ASP) members: •Barry Group Inc. •Ocean Choice International L.P. •Fogo Island Co-Op Society Ltd. •Notre Dame Seafoods Inc. •Nu Sea Products Inc. (BGI) •Northern Shrimp Ltd (OCI) •St. Anthony Seafoods Limited Partnership (Clearwater

Species	Pandalus borealis
Geographical range of fishing operations	The 'Northern Shrimp Fishery' in Shrimp Fishing Areas (SFA) 13, 14, 15
Method of capture	Otter Trawl
Stock	SFA 13, 14, 15
Management	DFO led management, through Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, supported by an Advisory Committee
Client Group	Association of Seafood Producer (ASP) members: •Barry Group Inc. •Ocean Choice International L.P. •Fogo Island Co-Op Society Ltd. •Notre Dame Seafoods Inc. •Nu Sea Products Inc. (BGI) •Northern Shrimp Ltd (OCI) •St. Anthony Seafoods Limited Partnership (Clearwater)