OCI Grand Banks yellowtail flounder: the fishers' story
Meet the OCI Grand Bank yellowtail flounder trawl fishers
The Grand Banks yellowtail flounder fishery went from a moratorium to stable in 14 years due to conservative management and a new emphasis on sustainability, and MSC certification is helping them benefit from these efforts. Greg Viscount of Ocean Choice International discusses the fishery's turnaround and how certification is broadening their customer base.
Quick facts
"Certification provides us a larger customer base as more companies state a desire to sell products that have a sustainability label attached to them. Having a fishery certified as sustainable has become entrenched as part of the industry now,”
– Greg Viscount, general manager at Ocean Conservation International
Why we chose MSC certification
A lot has changed for the Grand Banks yellowtail flounder fishery since 1994, when a moratorium on fishing the species, as well as several others, went into effect. Three years later, that moratorium made way for a conservative quota of 4,000 tonnes and, after the stocks continued to return to their previous healthy levels over the next 14 years, in 2010 that quota was allowed to return to its previous peak of 17,000 tonnes.
Ocean Choice International (OCI) owns over 90 per cent of that quota, so was instrumental in supporting the science and regulations that led to the stock's recovery. It was only logical, then, that the company would seek recognition for its efforts through pursuing MSC certification, a process in which they had already been successful with their northern prawn and offshore scallop fisheries.
Greg Viscount, OCI's general manager, notes that there had also been an "attitude shift" in the marketplace since the days of the moratorium, with a new emphasis on sustainability.
"We were well aware of the importance of sustainability issues from having lived through the moratorium and experiencing the change in the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador with the collapse of the groundfish fisheries," Viscount explains. "So after we gained MSC experience with northern shrimp it was a natural progression for us to get certification for the other products we offer."
What sets us apart
Here are a few of the steps the OCI Grand Banks yellowtail fishery has taken towards sustainable fishing:
- Restriction on fishing seasons allow stocks to rebuild during spawning times
- Bycatch rules reduce impact on non-target species
- Considerable amount of data ensures management is responsive and sustainable
- Commitment to sound science and cooperation with regulators allowed stocks to recover in just 14 years
- Ongoing commitment to further research and conservation improvements
Environmental benefits of MSC certification
In addition to catch limits, other measures meant to ensure the fishery maintains its sustainability include restrictions on the times of year flounder can be caught. There is no fishing while the fish are spawning, for instance, both so that stocks can be rebuilt and because the fish's flesh is of a lesser quality during those times of year.
Impact on non-target species is limited by rules that mandate leaving an area if too much bycatch is taken there. "And if we can't reduce it by moving off we'll stop the fishing, step back, and try to determine why we're having such a large bycatch," says Viscount. Each year those bycatch limits are changed based on scientific advice.
A comprehensive monitoring and surveillance system and considerable data about the stock ensure the fishery remains sustainable.
How else does MSC certification benefit the environment?
Economic benefits of MSC certification
Conservative management at the Grand Banks yellowtail flounder fishery allowed it to reach sustainable levels just as the marketplace started valuing sustainably sourced seafood.
With this new emphasis, certification has become important to more and larger retailers, both in North America and Europe, which Viscount says: "provides us a larger customer base as more companies state a desire to sell products that have a sustainability label attached to them."
"Having a fishery certified as sustainable has become entrenched as part of the industry now," he explains. "Both the harvesters and the processors think of it as a matter of course and naturally all of our customers and the major retailers have our certification as one of their key messages to the public."
How else does MSC certification improve economic prospects for fisheries?
Social benefits of MSC certification
The sustainability efforts of the fishers and managers have allowed them to depend on the fact that there will be income from yellowtail fishing every year. Viscount thinks that this will have long-term social benefits for the people who depend on the fishery.
"I think in five years' time one of the impacts of having the certification will be being able to say we are now in a situation where we are having continued year over year production of the Grand Bank yellowtail, whereas in the previous twenty years there were years where there were ups and downs and years where there was no fishing," he says.Policy benefits of MSC certification
It is not only consumers that are becoming more concerned with sustainability issues. Governments, too, are more aware of the need to fish responsibly, and part of that growing awareness might stem from the influence of programs like the MSC.
"I think the MSC and the whole move toward sustainability has to have an impact on both the policies that governments implement as well as the harvesting practices," says Viscount. “Today companies and government are more aware of their actions and how they will be viewed by the general public."
Looking ahead...
As part of certification, the fishery is required to address several issues, including the development of well-defined harvest control rules, which they are beginning to prepare. Ultimately, Viscount thinks this work will pay off. "I think in the long term we will see that because we have certification and are working each year to meet the requirements of the certification, we will be able to ensure the stock biomass stays at a level that can sustain a commercial fishery going forward," he says.
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The article above was written by an independent journalist commissioned by the MSC to find out how MSC certification has helped this fishery.
