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North East Atlantic mackerel pelagic trawl, purse-seine and handline

MSC status

Certified as sustainable on the 30th April 2009. 

The Conformity Assessment Body, DNV, have accepted the final corrective action plan put forward by the Mackerel Industry Northern Sustainability Alliance (MINSA) for the North East Atlantic mackerel pelagic trawl, purse-seine and handline fishery.

Suspension of the fishery certificate will not be lifted until all stated goals of the corrective action plan have been fully met and the harmonised condition of certification is met in full.

Please refer to the assessment downloads section for further information.

Summary

Species: Mackerel (Scomber scombrus)
Location: ICES areas II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
Fishing methods: Offshore purse-seiners, midwater trawlers and some smaller coastal vessels operating purse seines and handlines.
Vessels: In 2007, according to Norges Sildesalgslag figures, there were 107 offshore purse seiners, 32 licensed trawlers, 189 small coastal purse seine vessels and 269 coastal hook and line vessels fishing for NEA mackerel.
Number of fisheries: 1

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More about mackerel

Mackerel is a pelagic fish spending most of its time in mid-water travelling in large dense, shoals, often at great speed and making very long migrations. It is a voracious, opportunistic feeder and feeds mainly on zooplankton, but also on some small pelagic fish. As a result it is a very oily fish, building up high energy reserves during the spring and summer which it needs both for migration and subsequent gonad development during the following winter.

More about the fishing methods

On average about 77% of the Northeast Atlantic mackerel catch originates from purse seiners, 3% from pelagic trawlers, 11% from coastal purse seiners and 9% from coastal handline vessels.

Both small coastal vessels and larger offshore vessels operate purse seine gears. Offshore purse seiners are generally between 36m and 94m, with a smaller group of vessels (18) around 27m. In addition, the 189 coastal purse seine vessels are between 15 and 27m.

Pelagic trawl vessels operate offshore. These vessels are currently between 30 and 68m in length.

Fishery tonnage

131,965 tonnes

Commercial market

The mackerel landed in Norway is almost exclusively exported.  The main market for mackerel some years ago was Japan and China, but during the two last years there has been a large increase in exports to Russia and Ukraine. 

 

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