Faroe Island North East Arctic cod
Last Updated: 8 May 2012
Number of fisheries: 1
Species
Cod (gadus morhua)
MSC assessment status
The Conformity Assessment Body, DNV, has announced that the Public Comment Draft Report for the Faroe Island North East Arctic cod fishery is now available for comment for a period of 30 days. Any stakeholder wishing to comment on the report is invited to contact Sandhya Chaudhury no later than 5pm GMT, 8 June 2012.
Stakeholders are advised that they are to provide objective evidence in support of any additional claims or any claimed errors of fact in their response to the Public Comment Draft Report. Any comments made by stakeholders shall be documented and forwarded by the certification body to its certification decision-making entity.
Please refer to the assessment downloads for further information.
Fishery location
ICES areas I and II within Norwegian and Russian EEZ and International waters; FAO area 27
Fishing method
Demersal trawl
Fishery management
The cod fishery in the north-east Arctic (ICES sub-Areas I and II) is managed jointly by Norway and Russia through the Joint Norwegian – Russian Fisheries Commission (JNRFC).
Commercial market
The main markets are in the EU.
Assessment timeline
The assessment process is expected to take 10 months and is scheduled for completion around April 2012. Please see the download section for a detailed assessment timeline.
The target eligibility date for this fishery is the 1st July 2011.
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).
Tonnage of the fishery
The MV Gadus is one of only three vessels fishing on the Faroese quota of north east arctic cod and haddock and the seventy fishermen on board work in shifts to catch 3,748 tonnes of cod and haddock every year.
