After a thorough review and assessment of the Norwegian ling (Molva molva), tusk (Brosme brosme) and lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) fishery, the accredited third-party certification party, Acoura Marine Ltd, has determined that it meets the high bar of sustainability in the MSC Fisheries Standard. This means that the fishery is now MSC certified.
The certification process started in August 2016 when these fisheries experienced an increased demand for MSC certified seafood it from their key markets. In particular, NFA sought to get the lumpfish fishery certified due to a demand for MSC certified roe and caviar from the Swedish market. Ling and tusk are mainly processed as dried stockfish for the Swedish market, dried and salted clipfish for the Caribbean and Latin-American markets, and frozen and fresh fillets for the Western European markets.
“We are pleased to have this certification in place – the project was a response to a strong push from some of our key markets, and we are now pleased to be able to provide them with the desired documentation” says Tor B. Larsen, Norwegian Fishermen’s Association’s (NFA) environmental advisor.
“It is a consistent trend both in the Scandinavian and other European markets that consumers want to make better and conscious choices when shopping for food. With this certification in place, it will not only provide opportunities for Norwegian market players to increase their assortment of MSC certified products, but also provide greater range of choices for consumers to buy sustainable seafood with the MSC ecolabel. “says Mari Nordstrøm, marketing & communications manager MSC Norway.
In total, these fisheries caught 18.677 tonnes of ling, 14.798 tonnes of tusk, and 453 tonnes of lumpfish in 2016. Taking these volumes into account, this means that today 69% of all the Norwegian fish landed is MSC certified. The fisheries are closely controlled through the Norwegian fisheries management system.
As a condition of certification, these fisheries will also implement clearly defined Harvest Control Rules (HCRs) and put a strategy in place to manage the fisheries’ impacts on endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species.