Unit of certification
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 Gulf of St. Lawrence northern shrimp fishery is defined as:
|
Species |
Pandalus borealis |
|
Geographical range of fishing operations |
The 'Northern Shrimp Fishery ' in Shrimp Fishing Areas (SFA) 9, 10, 12 |
|
Method of capture |
Otter Trawl |
|
Stock |
SFA 9, 10, 12 |
|
Management |
A draft management plan is in effect for 5 years, starting in 2003 and most recently updated in 2005. The principles underlying this plan are "resource conservation, continuing viability of traditional shrimpers and the integration of First Nations into fisheries". Annual TACs are subdivided into individual boat quotas and there are provisions for quota transferability (except for Newfoundland based boats). Access for boats without permanent shrimp licences is dependent on TACs exceeding certain tonnages. |
|
Client group |
The clients for this certification are six shrimp processors from Québec, who are members of the Association of Quebec Seafood Producers (AQIP) and two New Brunswick based shrimp processors. AQIP is a Quebec based organization whose mandate is to represent the seafood producers of Quebec at the federal and provincial levels on all discussions regarding the seafood processing industry. Produits Belle-Baie Ltée is a seafood processor located in Caraquet, New Brunswick. It is a private company which processes shrimp, snow crab and groundfish species for markets. L'Association Coopérative des Pêcheurs de l'Ile Ltée is a cooperative of harvesters who have also invested in processing facilities for northern shrimp, snow crab and some groundfish species. |
