Sustainability notes

This is an overview of how the Hastings Fleet Pelagic herring and mackerel fishery 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 of the points on which the fishery scored over 90 are outlined below.

Principle 1: the state of the fish stock

• Both species are easily identified by fishers and regulators. Life histories, behaviour, ecological interactions, geographical range and migrations of both species also clearly documented and understood. These are important issues in terms of stock management.
• Hastings vessels fishing for both species, and gear used, is well known. All vessels are licensed and mesh size regulated as appropriate. This allows regular monitoring of catch. All reference points are also well documented and stock levels monitored.
  

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

• There is adequate knowledge of the effects of gear use on the ecosystem. Since drift nets only affect middle and upper water column, any impacts are incidental and negligible. Gear loss is also highly unusual thus ‘ghost fishing’ (fish getting trapped in lost and drifting nets) does not occur.

Principle 3: the fishery management systems

• Organisations with management responsibility are clearly defined including areas of responsibility and management. Fisheries are managed through the Common Fisheries Policy of the EU and EU-Norway agreements. Locally, Hastings fishery is regulated by a well established framework consistent with traditional regional practices. It follows all international, national and local laws.

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:

• Recording of by-catches and discards: although the levels of by-catches and discards are expected to be very low in this fishery no quantitative information is available on this issue. Records of fish by-catch and discard should be maintained by species and approximate numbers or weight, and any other incidental catch (such as seabirds etc.) should include numbers caught.