After more than a year of in-depth assessment, Camanchaca Pesca, one of Chile’s most important seafood companies, has obtained Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. The certification covers the red and yellow langostino lobster fisheries in the southern central areas of Chile.
The MSC fishery certification is valid for 5 years and certifies that the Camanchaca Pesca langostino lobster fisheries are operating in a sustainable manner by keeping stock biomass healthy, while respecting the marine ecosystem. Camanchaca Pesca also verifies its seafood products are traceable and sustainable through the MSC Chain of Custody certification. On September 14, 2017, Camanchaca Pesca celebrated this achievement during the launch of its first Sustainability Report for its fishing division.
Ricardo García, Camanchaca Pesca's CEO, said “The MSC certification is very important to our company, especially because it supports that the langostino lobster fishing operations are conducted in a responsible and sustainable manner”.
To achieve MSC certification, Camanchaca Pesca completed two stages. During the first stage, international certification agency Bureau Veritas carried out a MSC pre-assessment to identify potential gaps against the MSC Fishery Standard. Once this step was completed, its langostino lobster fisheries entered to the full MSC assessment process in October 2015. The evaluation involved several relevant stakeholders including universities, fishermen, and Chilean Fisheries Management Agencies, among others. Stakeholders provided important scientific and technical contributions to the assessment process.
Brian Perkins, MSC Regional Director - Americas, said: “MSC is proud to welcome the Red and yellow langostino lobster fisheries to the MSC program. The science-based MSC Standard demonstrates that fisheries committed to the program show results that make a difference in the marine ecosystem, and we’re thrilled Camanchaca Pesca is dedicated to that change.”
“Guided by the MSC certification requirements, the certifier will undertake annual surveillance to this certification, where the fishery will be assessed against its commitments. Due to this requirement, Camanchaca Pesca is pledged to keep this recognition, making required improvements, and managing the fishing activities in a sustainable way”, underlined Gonzalo Fernández, Camanchaca Pesca Fishing Division Director.
Due to the high requirements of the MSC Fisheries Standard, only 8 fisheries have obtained the MSC recognition in South America. This is the sixth fishery obtaining certification in Chile. Camanchaca Pesca implemented new fishing trawling nets which ensure that the langostino lobster fishery doesn’t undermine the environment or species living at the bottom of the seabed. They have also committed to fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
See more details about the fishery at fisheries.msc.org >