Christian Olesen, Director of the DPPO says: “For us this is a natural second step. We have three pillars of income in the human consumption market. Having started with the North Sea herring it was only natural to continue with the other two pillars – the Atlanto-Scandian herring and the North East Atlantic mackerel. This is especially important as our markets are increasing requiring certification and many of our colleagues in the pelagic sector are turning towards MSC certification to demonstrate their sustainability.”
The DPPO was established in 1984 and currently has 8 member vessels, both pelagic trawlers and purse seines. The Atlanto-Scandian herring (also known as Norwegian Spring Spawning herring) fishery targets ICES divisions I, IIa, IIb, V, XIV in the north Atlantic and Arctic regions. The mackerel fishery in the North East Atlantic targets stocks in ICES Areas II, III, IV, V & VI.
Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of the MSC says, “This is a significant, strategic move by the DPPO and will bring two important Danish fisheries from a critically important market into full assessment. I am very pleased to be able to welcome the DPPO Atlanto-Scandian herring and North East Atlantic mackerel fisheries as the 4th and 5th Danish fisheries to enter full assessment. These fisheries will be some of the first to use the new fishery assessment methodology and I wish them a smooth, successful certification process.”
