Consolidated Fisheries and the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department have confirmed that the Falkland Islands toothfish longline fishery has been re-certified for a further five years by the Marine Stewardship Council.
The re-certification of the fishery is dated 5th November 2018 and is valid for five years. The initial certification was in March 2014, and this was the first and only Falkland Islands fishery to meet certification requirements.
The Marine Stewardship Council, established in 1997, certifies many fisheries around the world that are entitled to use the now well-known Blue Tick logo.
More than half of the Southern Ocean toothfish fisheries are now MSC certified, which Consolidated Fisheries (CFL) sees as enhancing the reputation of toothfish as a well-protected and sustainable sourced species.
According to Consolidated Fisheries, the Falkland Islands’ only longline operator concentrating on toothfish as a target species, the outcome of the MSC assessment demonstrated that management methodologies and procedures have developed since the initial certification in 2014, and the assessment showed improved overall scores across all three main principles and no conditions were applied.
‘Work done by CFL and the Fisheries Department in developing robust harvest control rules, understanding the identity and origin of the stock and exploring impacts of fishing on benthic habitats have been key areas o work that will continue to evolve in the future,’ a spokesman for Consolidated Fisheries said.
