Scotian shelf and the Gulf of St Lawrence snow crab trap
Last Updated: 20 April 2012
Number of fisheries: 1
Species
Snow Crab (chionoecetes opilio)
MSC assessment status
The Conformity Assessment Body, Global Trust, has announced an extension of the comment period for the Public Comment Draft Report for the Scotian shelf and the Gulf of St Lawrence snow crab trap fishery. Any stakeholder wishing to comment on the report is invited to contact Clare Murray no later than 5pm GMT, 27 April 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 details.
Fishery location
North West Atlantic off the eastern and north-western shores of the Province of Nova Scotia, in FAO statistical area 21.
Fishing method
Conical or rectangular baited traps
Fishery management
Fisheries policy is regulated by national and regional legislation managed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).
Commercial market
The Asian market, primarily Japan, represents the majority of the snow crab market with the US increasing its share.
Assessment timeline
The assessment process is expected to take 12 months and is scheduled for completion around July 2012. Please see the download section for a detailed assessment timeline.
The target eligibility date for this fishery is the 1st August 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
Around 20,000 tones per annum.
