The Faroese Atlanto-Scandian herring (also known as Norwegian Spring Spawning herring) and north east Atlantic mackerel fisheries have entered assessment for certification under the Marine Stewardship Council standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. They are the second and third Faroese fisheries to enter MSC assessment following the Faroe Islands queen scallop fishery which started its assessment in June 2008.
The mackerel fishery uses pelagic trawls and purse seines and – although quotas for 2009 have not yet been allocated – the fishery historically has landed around 11,000 – 13,000MT. The herring fishery is considerably larger catching just over 70,000MT in 2008 using the same gear. The fisheries are seasonal catching herring July – November and mackerel October to December.
Jógvan Jespersen from Felagið Nótaskip – the Faroese Pelagic Organisation – says: “For us it is a natural step to follow many of our colleagues in the pelagic sector to demonstrate the sustainability of the fisheries of Atlanto-Scandian herring and the North East Atlantic mackerel through a MSC certification. Our markets are increasing demanding certification, and this certification make sure, that the fish are caught from sustaiable resources in a way which not is damaging either the species or the environment in general”
Camiel Derichs, MSC manager for northern Europe adds: “This is a great development in the North Atlantic, and I am delighted that the Faroese herring and mackerel fisheries are now in full MSC assessment. These fisheries represent a significant part of the total Faroese catches by volume. I hope this is the start of a successful assessment and that it supports Faroese fisheries to demonstrate the sustainability of their fisheries resources to the world through MSC certification.”
