North West Atlantic Canada harpoon swordfish: the fishers' story
Meet the North West Atlantic Canada harpoon swordfish fishers
The unique Canada harpoon swordfish fishery is about as selective as possible, with little to no bycatch or habitat impact – as well as conservative management measures. MSC certification is helping the fishery to access new markets.
Quick facts
"Through careful management and attention to sustainability, both domestically and internationally, the North Atlantic swordfish stock has been fully rebuilt over the last ten years, and with continued sustainable fishing practices will provide fishing opportunities for generations to come."
– Troy Atkinson, spokesman for the Nova Scotia Swordfishermen’s Association
Why we chose MSC certification
Certification has given these fishers a way to promote their particularly low-impact and selective fishery. In choosing to pursue certification, the harpoon swordfish fishery has set itself apart from the other options in the marketplace and capitalise on their unique and sustainable harvesting methods.
Certification also represents a chance to be the first swordfish fishery, and one of only a handful of fisheries, that target highly migratory species in the MSC program.What sets us apart
Here are a few of the steps the North West Atlantic Canada harpoon swordfish fishery have taken towards sustainable fishing:- Conservative catch quotas ensure the rebuilt fishery maintains sustainable levels.
- Highly selective harpoon fishing method ensures little or no bycatch or environmental impact.
- Continued active participation with international and national management processes to advocate for further improvements to sustainable management.
Environmental benefits of MSC certification
Fisheries targeting swordfish in the Atlantic Ocean are managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which establishes an annual catch quota for all member countries involved in the Atlantic-wide fishery. Nationally, the Canadian quota of swordfish is managed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) which relies on consultation with the fishing industry and stakeholders.
The harpoon fleet receives 10 per cent – around 130 tonnes in recent years – of the annual Canadian North Atlantic swordfish quota. In recent years, another 125 tonnes or so, of the longline sector's quota, has been landed using harpoons.
Harpoon fishing makes the fishery highly selective with little to no bycatch, since fishers can visually identify the fish before targeting and landing it.
"Through careful management and attention to sustainability, both domestically and internationally, the North Atlantic swordfish stock has been fully rebuilt over the last ten years, and with continued sustainable fishing practices will provide fishing opportunities for generations to come," Troy Atkinson, spokesman for the Nova Scotia Swordfishermen’s Association said at the time of the fishery's certification.
Given the difficulties Atlantic swordfish faced just a decade ago, the sustainability accomplishments of the harpoon fishery are even more noteworthy.
How else does MSC certification benefit the environment?Economic benefits of MSC certification
More than 90 per cent of the swordfish landed by the swordfish harpoon fishery is exported to U.S. fresh markets. The fishery's sustainability should ensure that they are able to continue to supply those markets for decades to come, but it also might open new markets to their products.
"As a result of having met the MSC standard and being able to use the MSC ecolabel, we look forward to accessing new markets with consumer confidence in our products," said Dale Richardson, spokesperson for SHQ Swordfish Harpoon Quota Society, at the time of certification.
"We look forward to offering customers the world’s first swordfish products to carry the prestigious blue logo of the Marine Stewardship Council," said Troy Atkinson.
How else does MSC certification improve economic prospects for fisheries?
Policy benefits of MSC certification
As was required by conditions for its certification, the harpoon swordfish fishery was instrumental in convincing ICCATT, which regulates large migratory fish in the Atlantic, to take under consideration at its 2009 meeting recommendations to set an explicit "limit reference point", above which there is a significant risk that further harvesting will reduce the North Atlantic swordfish stock’s ability to sustainably reproduce. They also helped convince the agency to consider well-defined rules stating which fishing pressures must be reduced as this limit is approached.
Looking ahead...
The fishery, in cooperation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), is continuing to push ICCATT to develop and adopt long-term objectives, limit reference points and a precautionary approach in managing Atlantic swordfish. The fishery and DFO are also increasing efforts to carefully monitor the stock status and are continuing to manage it conservatively, including lowering the 2010 and 2011 Total Allowable Catch (TACs) for precautionary reasons.
Get recipes for sustainable fish dishesFind MSC labelled products from this fishery
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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.
