The DFPO Denmark Eastern Baltic cod fishery was certified as a sustainable and well-managed fishery against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) environmental standard. The press release said that the cod has been a commercially important species in the Baltic region. Now European consumers will have easy way to buy Baltic cod bearing the distinctive blue MSC ecolabel.
Baltic cod fishery is a year-round fishery using demersal trawls and long lines to catch cod in the Baltic Sea east of Bornholm. After its remarkable recovery in 2009 the Danish Fishermen’s Producer Organisation (DFPO) entered this fishery into full assessment as part its plans to have all Danish fisheries MSC certified before the end of 2012.
Minna Epps, Manager Baltic for the MSC said that the success of this fishery is amazing and the fishermen should be applauded for their efforts. Consumers and suppliers in markets throughout northern Europe have been looking forward to the day when we can source certified sustainable Baltic cod. DFPO president Kurt Madsen express his comment by saying that the cod stock fell rapidly to levels where it could only barely sustain a fishery at all. Now, only seven years after the absolute low-point, the Danish Eastern Baltic cod fishery is the first cod fishery in the EU to be able to say that it is an MSC certified sustainable fishery – thanks to a once again thriving stock and sound management.
The DFPO originally entered three different gear types for MSC assessment but the set net component of this fishery failed to meet the requirements of the MSC standard. But now it earns MSC certificate after successful assessment of the fishery.
