Sustainability notes

This is an overview of how the Atlantic Cod, Haddock and Wolffish Handline, Longline and Danish Seine Fisheries scored in assessment against the MSC standard. For the certifiers evaluation please download the full public certification report with detailed information on the performance of this fishery against the criteria of the MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing.

The fishery scored as follows in assessment against the MSC standard for sustainable fishing. The highest possible score for each principle is 100 and a fishery must score at least 80 against each principle to get certified: 

Sustainability strengths

Some points on which the fishery scored over 90 are outlined below. 

Principle 1: the state of the fish stock

• The harvest strategy is expected to achieve both the management objective of maintaining a harvest at 20% of biomass and maintaining the stock above the level where recruitment is reduced and stock collapse possible.
• Current assessments indicate that the harvest control rule has reduced the exploitation rate considerably.
• The cod and haddock is extensively monitored using surveys and biological samples from catches along with monitoring of total landings and catches. This comprehensive range of information is sufficient to support the harvest strategy.

Principle 2: the impact of the fishery on the marine environment

• By law, all catch, including all retained species, shall be landed and recorded by the official harbour managers. All retained species are routinely monitored through several surveys.
• The Fisheries Management Act requires that all catches shall be landed; therefore discarding is illegal. All the catch landed in Iceland by the Icelandic fishing fleet must be weighed and reported into a database operated by the Directorate of Fisheries.
• No seabird or marine mammals around Iceland are listed as Endangered, Threatened or Protected species. The catch of grey skate was low in the assessed Danish seine and longline fisheries and did not occur as bycatch on handline.
  

Principle 3: the fishery management systems

• Iceland is a party to the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, the fisheries-related provisions which states that fisheries are to be managed sustainably, that they should be optimally used, and that states shall cooperate on the management of shared stocks.
• The management system in Iceland includes a comprehensive consultative process where stakeholders are invited to have their say regarding regulations and the regulatory approach.
• A comprehensive monitoring, control and surveillance system is in place, with inspections at sea and at landing sites. Also post-landing checks of reported landings against quotas are performed for each vessel. A satellite based vessel monitoring system applies to all vessels.

Challenges

In order to ensure its continuing sustainable operation this fishery made a commitment to improving its performance where it scored between 60-80. Some of the actions the fishery has committed to are:  

• to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that reference points are implemented and that management authorities will support the long term use of current harvest control rule.
• to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that existing survey data are analysed to infer stock trends and adopt appropriate management measures if needed.
• to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that management authorities formally adopt a harvest strategy.
• to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that management authorities evaluate, formally adopt and adhere to a harvest control rule which corresponds to the harvest strategy.
• to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that existing survey data are analysed to infer stock trends and adopt appropriate management measures if needed.