The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has hailed a bold and historic move by fishing companies in the Barents Sea to protect rare species on the ocean floor. The fishing companies, have announced a swathe of new measures to mitigate their impact on ocean floor species. These include freezing the trawl footprint to historically affected grounds, better mapping of habitat-bottom-impacts to identify sensitive habitats, and a far reaching commitment to avoid impacts on vulnerable habitats.
In the re-certification of the Norwegian fishery in October 2015, it was recognized that, as the fisheries follow the historically large cod stock into its wider (more northerly) foraging grounds in the Barents Sea, new habitats could become subject to undesirable impacts. This led to a new ‘habitat impact’ condition as part of the MSC certification. Since that re-certification the fisheries in the area have continued and accelerated their activity to generate better understanding of habitat impacts of trawl fishing.
These new commitments will help Barents Sea trawl fisheries to continue demonstrating that they meet international best-practice standards. It will also help them to get prepared for a transition to meeting MSCs new standards (Certification Requirements 2.0) in the years to come. The new MSC requirements set high expectations on fisheries to avoid habitat impacts, particularly in Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs).
Camiel Derichs, MSC Director Europe says: “Cod fisheries in the Barents Sea have long been recognized as well managed and sustainable. The way that the industry has accelerated its work on habitat protection is testament to the long term commitment of these fisheries to sustainable fishing. The Barents Sea and the Arctic ecosystems are amongst the most productive marine ecosystems in the world, and these fisheries provide healthy sustainable seafood for billions of people. It is obviously in the long term interest of the fishing industry to continue finding a sound balance between socio-economic benefits, and environmental sustainability. Healthy ocean floors are a key part of that, since these often act as birth chambers and nursery grounds for important fish populations, fueling food production for this and future generations."
History of sustainable fishing in the Barents Sea
The MSC has been working with fisheries in the Barents Sea region since 2006, leading to certification of the Norwegian and Russian cod fishing industry from 2010 onwards. Independent MSC certification confirmed the healthy stocks and sound management in place in Norway and Russia to manage cod stocks for future generations. It also recognized the robust management approach in place to protect the ecosystem and habitats in the Barents Sea.
While these fisheries act at a very high level of sustainability, there were still some questions about the impacts of these fisheries on potentially sensitive habitats. These questions mean that the MSC certified fisheries in the Barents Sea have to complete a series of ‘conditions’ to maintain their certifications. Barents Sea fisheries have made tremendous progress since 2010. New, lower impact, trawl gears have been tested successfully and are starting to be used in day to day fishing. New research and data collection on habitat impact of trawl fisheries has led to increased understanding of impacts, and better avoidance of potentially sensitive areas was operationalized on vessels. New protected areas have been adopted, and the threshold levels of bycatch of sponges and corals have been set at much stricter levels.
"The Norwegian fishing fleet has long traditions in taking a precautionary approach to ensure sustainable harvesting of the marine ressources and in minimalizing the footprints of the fishing activities. We now are in a process with MSC and Norwegian authorities to pinpoint the most vulnerable areas in the northern Arctic." says Jan Ivar Maråk, Vice President of Resources at Fiskebåt, The member organization of the ocean going fleet of Norway.