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Bristol Channel sea bass

Last Updated: 2nd March 2012
Number of fisheries: 1

Species

Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

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MSC assessment status

Following a 30-day period of comment on the Draft Report for the Bristol Channel sea bass fishery, the Certification Body, Moody Marine Ltd., has met to consider the report of the assessment team, the report of the Peer Review panel and all stakeholder comments. The Determination reached by the certification body is that the Bristol Channel sea bass fishery should NOT be certified in accordance with the MSC Standard. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A DETERMINATION, NOT A FINAL CERTIFICATION RESULT.

There is now a 15 working day period during which a party may lodge a notice of objection to the determinations reached. For further information on the objections process, including the grounds upon which an objection can be made, please email objections@msc.org or write to the MSC London Office (Please follow this link for the MSC London Office address).

Any intent to file an objection should first be addressed to the certification body, for the attention of Jim Andrews at Moody Marine, and copied to the MSC's Chief Executive, Mr Rupert Howes at the email address objections@msc.org, by 5pm GMT, 5th September 2011.

Please refer to the assessment downloads section for further information.

Fishery location

ICES Area VIIf, East of 5º 30’ West.

Fishing method

Demersal Otter trawl

Fishery management

All fisheries for sea bass, including the recreational and part time fisheries, are governed by EU legislation which prohibits the landing of sea bass below 36cm in length. In the Cornwall and South Wales SFC districts the minimum landing size for bass is 37.5 cm. Under current EU legislation, a directed fishery for bass using a demersal otter trawl is subject to minimum mesh size restriction.

National legislation restricts fishing for bass from a boat in bass nursery areas, i.e. 37 estuaries around the coast of England and Wales.

Bass are not subject to an EU or UK quota, therefore there are no current restrictions on the quantity

Commercial market

The main markets for sea bass caught in the Bristol Channel are the domestic market and other EU markets.

Assessment timeline

The assessment process is expected to take 21 months and is scheduled for completion around March 2011. Please see the download section for a detailed assessment timeline.

The target eligibility date for this fishery is the 31st of August 2010.

The MSC ecolabel can only be applied to product from certified fisheries. The MSC program does allow, in certain circumstances and within strict traceability requirements, the MSC ecolabel to be applied following certification to product caught before the actual date of certification. The target eligibility date therefore represents the date from which products may become eligible to carry the MSC ecolabel, however they cannot be sold until and if the fishery is certified. The actual eligibility date will be determined if the fishery is certified to the MSC standard.

To find out more about when fish from this fishery may be sold with the MSC ecolabel, please follow this link (http://www.msc.org/get-certified/supply-chain/eligibility-dates).

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