South Georgia icefish pelagic trawl: the fishers' story
Meet the South Georgia icefish pelagic trawl fishers
MSC certification is helping the South Georgia icefish pelagic trawl fishery try to bring its unique product and story to new, more lucrative markets.
Quick facts
"The South Georgia fishery takes place in one of the most carefully managed and environmentally conscious areas of the world – one of the last paradises for rare birds and pristine nature. Our fishery recognizes this and one of the driving reasons for our MSC certification has been our willingness to accept this and protect and enhance the environment in which we work."
– Alex Reid, owner of Seaview Ltd and part owner of the joint venture Polar Ltd, which operates the certified fishery
Why we chose MSC certification
Recognition of the careful management that is in place to protect and enhance the environment.
The South Georgia icefish pelagic trawl fishery's hope is that icefish's firm white flesh and subtle flavour will catch on in more markets, and being recognised for their sustainability through MSC certification could be key to that effort. After a thorough six-year effort in which industry, government and scientists collected evidence on the impacts of the fishery, South Georgia pelagic trawl icefish was certified in October 2010.
"The South Georgia fishery takes place in one of the most carefully managed and environmentally conscious areas of the world – one of the last paradises for rare birds and pristine nature. Our fishery recognises this and one of the driving reasons for our MSC certification has been our willingness to accept this and protect and enhance the environment in which we work," said Alex Reid, owner of Seaview Ltd and part owner of the joint venture Polar Ltd, which operates the certified fishery.
The fishers of the South Georgia pelagic trawl icefish fishery work in some of the harshest waters in the world in order to haul in a unique catch. Icefish, which are almost transparent, live deep underwater in waters between -2 and 4 degrees Celsius – temperatures that would kill a human in minutes. But a natural antifreeze in their blood means that the icefish are adapted to these conditions. Icefish grow rapidly to a marketable size in three years and congregate in large numbers to feed on krill.
Today's fishers, which utilise pelagic trawls far from the island's coasts with minimal impact on other species or habitat, still brave unforgiving weather to bring in their product.
What sets us apart:
Here are a few of the steps the South Georgia icefish pelagic trawl fishery has taken towards sustainable fishing:- Pelagic trawls lead to minimal bycatch of non-target species
- Lack of contact with ocean floor limits impact on habitat and ecosystem
- Extensive measures to reduce bycatch of seabirds
- Careful management by CCAMLR works to ensure survival of unique fish
- Ongoing commitment to further reducing impacts on non-target species and gathering information about icefish stocks
Environmental benefits of MSC certification
After catches peaked in the early 1980s, it was feared the icefish stocks were being depleted. After a year of closures in 1989, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) re-opened the fishery with very small quotas. They also restricted the fishery to only pelagic trawls, where a large net is dragged through the water but never comes in contact with the ocean floor.
This fishing method has been key to the South Georgia fishery's sustainability. With nets designed to avoid contact with bottom habitat, the ability to selectively target icefish and extensive measures in place to limit bycatch of seabirds, the fishery has minimised its ecosystem impacts. The pelagic trawl gear, in fact, would detach if it came into contact with the seabed.
No fishing is allowed within 12 nautical miles of South Georgia, the rocky islands off its coast that form key bird habitat, or the nearby marine protected areas. This also means that commercial fishing activity does not overlap with the icefish spawning areas closer to the coast and in fjords.
Polar Ltd also uses a slightly larger mesh size than the legal minimum in order to ensure it primarily catches larger, more mature icefish.
How else does MSC certification benefit the environment?Economic benefits of MSC certification
All the catch is exported, but currently mackerel icefish is relatively unknown outside of Eastern Europe and southeast Asia, where it is a delicacy. Reid hopes MSC certification will "assist us with the marketing of our product and open doors into new markets."
Though they have had no problem selling all their catch, the fishers hope to expand into new, diverse – and possibly lucrative – markets. Certification could help icefish be recognised as not just a unique product from a unique place but also sustainably sourced.
"Although there is a great demand for this product, we believe that it is time to introduce our product to the dinner tables of folk in other areas and we know the MSC certificate will assist us in doing just this," says Reid.
How else does MSC certification improve economic prospects for fisheries?Looking ahead...
Additional measures to further reduce seabird mortality have been adopted in recent years, including thorough cleaning of the net before each trawl and adding weights so that the net does not open until it is fully submerged. As part of its certification, the fishery has also committed to further research on the icefish stock over the next four years.
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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.
