The certification of ling, tusk and lumpfish fisheries in Norwegian waters completes a process that began in August 2016 when the Acoura Marine started the assessment process. Now 69% of Norwegian wild catches are MSC certified.
‘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,’ said environmental advisor Tor B. Larsen at the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association’s (NFA).
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 western European markets.
‘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,’ commented Mari Nordstrøm at MSC Norway.
‘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.’
In 2016 these fisheries resulted in landings of 18.677 tonnes of ling, 14.798 tonnes of tusk, and 453 tonnes of lumpfish.
According to the MSC, 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.
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