North Sea brown shrimp
Last updated: 1st April 2009
Number of fisheries: 1
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Fishery species
Brown shrimp (Crangon crangon)
MSC assessment status
The certification body, Food Certification International (FCI), has announced that the North Sea brown shrimp fishery is now entering the information gathering phase of the assessment. The primary objective of this stage is to collect information on the fishery and in particular to speak to representatives of the fishery, fishery management bodies and other stakeholders of the fishery. Meetings will be carried out on the week commencing the 4th May 2009 in Den Oever, The Netherlands.
Any stakeholder with information on this fishery that should be considered in the assessment, or who wishes to meet with FCI should contact Melissa McFadden, no later than 15th April 2009.
Please refer to the assessment downloads section for further information.
Fishery location
Within North Sea ICES sub-areas IVa, b and c.
Fishing method
Trawl
Fishery management
The fishery is subject to control under EU, national and local primary and secondary legislation. Within Territorial limits (out to 3 or 6 nautical miles) the fishery is typically subject to one form or another of inshore fisheries management, and subject to local management, control and inspection. Beyond Territorial limits, the fishery is subject to national legislation and control and inspection by the relvant national inspectorate.
The core area of the shrimp (Crangon crangon) fishery is the Wadden Sea - an area listed as a European Marine Protected Area, a provision that falls under the Bird and Habitat Directive of the EU.
Within the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) the fishery is not considered a pressure stock fishery and is not subject to management by TAC. It is however, the subject of ongoing scrutiny for stock assessment and management purposes, and such work is coordinated through a fishery specific ICES working group.
Most elements of the shrimp fleet are subject to control through a number of local professional organisations and, for those also fishing quota species, through membership of relevant Fish Producer Organisations.
Annual catch is approximately 35 000 tonnes.
Commercial market
Mostly EU.
Assessment process
The assessment process is expected to take approximately 19 months. Please see the download section for a detailed assessment timeline.
The target eligibility date for this fishery is the 1st of March 2009.
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).
