World-leading conservation measures protect over 80% of deep-sea habitats, reduce bycatch of coral and sponge by over 90%
March 13, 2026 – VANCOUVER – The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) proudly welcomes the British Columbia Groundfish Trawl fishery to the program as the fishery achieves independent certification to the MSC Fishery Standard for environmentally sustainable fishing.
The highly complex, multi-species fishery has undertaken a series of transformative improvements including one of the most comprehensive stock management and quota allocation programs, and the precedent-setting Pacific Groundfish Trawl Habitat Conservation Agreement designed to address concerns about impacts to sensitive seafloor and deep-sea habitats.
The Habitat Conservation Agreement, co-developed by the Deep Sea Trawlers Association of BC (DSTA), the Canadian Groundfish Research & Conservation Society (CGRCS), and several environmental organizations to date has delivered:
- 22% in the fishery’s footprint
- permanent protection for over 80% of deep-sea habitats coast-wide
- over 90% reduction in bycatch of sensitive coral and sponge
“Achieving MSC certification further validates decades of hard work to redefine how mid water and bottom trawling can be done sustainably,” says Zoe Anhert, Executive Manager for the Deep Sea Trawlers Association of BC (DSTA). “Every member of our fleet takes great pride in these accomplishments and remains steadfast in advancing beyond the practices of the past.”
The fishery operates under the British Columbia Integrated Groundfish Program - widely recognized as a global leader for its combination of strong management, clear catch limits, and close monitoring across more than 70 species treating them as part of one connected ecosystem. Every vessel is accountable for the totality of its catch - both retained and released - and subject to 100 per cent at-sea electronic and dockside monitoring. Along with Department of Fisheries and Ocean Canada, the fishery has transformed catch accountability and monitoring, ensuring catch limits are respected and fish populations remain healthy.
“The transformation the BC Groundfish Trawl fishery has undergone is nothing short of remarkable,” says Kurtis Hayne, Program Director for the MSC in Canada. “They have established a compelling blueprint for environmentally sustainable trawling that we hope will inspire many more to follow.”
There are 16 species of groundfish from the fishery that can now be sold as MSC certified:
- Bocaccio rockfish (Sebastes paucispinis)
- Canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger)
- Dover sole (Microstomus pacificus)
- Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus)
- Pacific ocean perch (Sebastes alutus)
- Petrale sole (Eopsetta jordani)
- Redstripe rockfish (Sebastes proriger)
- Rock sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata)
- Rougheye/Blackspotted rockfish complex (Sebastes aleutianus/melanostictus)
- Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria)
- Shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus)
- Silvergray rockfish (Sebastes brevispinis)
- Walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus)
- Widow rockfish (Sebastes entomelas)
- Yellowmouth rockfish (Sebastes reedi)
- Yellowtail rockfish (Sebastes flavidus)