The fishing cooperative Küstenfischer Nord eG Heiligenhafen has received the internationally recognised MSC certificate for sustainable fishing for its eastern Baltic cod. Ulrich Elsner, an executive member of the managing board of Küstenfischer Nord eG Heiligenhafen, is delighted with the result: “Our fishery was put through its paces over a 14-month period – and was successful. The independent certifying body Food Certification International and a team of scientific experts confirmed that our fishery meets the requirements of the MSC standard”. The cooperative’s members can start using the MSC label on their eastern Baltic cod immediately. The label tells consumers that the fish was caught using eco-friendly methods.
About fishing grounds and cod landings of this fishery
The 17 vessels catch their MSC-certified cod in the eastern Baltic. Just a few years ago, the cod stock in the eastern Baltic was close to collapse, but it has recovered remarkably well. Scientific stock calculations show a six-fold increase in numbers since 2005. The positive development of the cod stock in the eastern Baltic is due in part to a significant reduction in fishing pressure, and partly to better recruitment. “To ensure that this remains the case, we voluntarily extend the official Eastern Baltic cod fishing ban in July and August by two more months. This way we provide the fish with more time to spawn in order to improve reproduction on a long term basis,” explains Elsner.
In 2011, the 17 vessels landed a total of 1554 tons of cod from the eastern Baltic, which accounts for 40 per cent of Germany’s entire Baltic cod quota. A large proportion of the catch is loaded onto trucks at the local port in Heiligenhafen and sold at auction in France. The rest is sold in the region or served up in the cooperative’s own restaurant.
About the fishing gear
The fishermen use midwater trawl nets and bottom trawl nets. Midwater trawl nets are pulled through the water by a boat and do not usually touch the sea bed. Since eastern Baltic cod are frequently found in deeper waters, but far above the sea bed, the fishermen primarily use midwater nets. When using bottom trawl nets, the fishermen employ light gears. “We try to minimize the bycatch by including exit windows in the net and using a mesh size of 125 mm – that is 20 mm larger than the legal requirement. We are also constantly working with scientists to make our nets even more selective,” adds Elsner.
About certification conditions
In addition, the fishery has been set some conditions that require further improvement measures to be implemented even now that the certification process is over. They include mapping the sea bed structures of the fishing grounds in detail. This will help them observe the impact of their fishing methods on the sea bed so they can reduce it if necessary.
“We are delighted that the MSC programme is increasingly popular with German fisheries and that the range of certified sustainably caught fish from our regional waters is increasing,” says Marnie Bammert, Manager of the MSC office for Germany, Switzerland and Austria in Berlin.
