Fishing grounds and catch quota
The fishing grounds are in the Western and Eastern Baltic Sea, where the 2009 cod (Gadus morhua) catch quota for this fishery is 3,500 tonnes. During early life stages, cod remains in coastal waters and later on moves offshore, to deeper areas. As cod is found in open waters as well as on the ocean floor, both pelagic and bottom trawl fishing gear is used to catch the fish.
Processing
The cod is landed for processing in the German Baltic ports of Sassnitz and Mukran. Most of the fish is delivered fresh to customers in Germany and other European countries. If the assessment shows that the fishery operates sustainably, in line with the MSC standard, its catch can be marked with the blue MSC ecolabel, which has become a reference of many commercial fish buyers in Europe and North America.
What MSC says
Cod is a significant Baltic Sea fishery. Together with herring and sprat it accounts for 95 percent of total landings from the Baltic Sea. “Stocks must be managed carefully to make this last. The MSC ecolabel is an easy-to-use and quick tool for identifying sustainably caught fish,” says Marnie Bammert, MSC Country Manager Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Fisheries commitment
In October 2008, the same producer association was awarded the MSC certificate for its saithe fishing operations in the North Sea. The association is aware of its responsibility for the oceans and has taken action to safeguard its resources. It lobbies for uniform regulations across Europe, stricter controls and tougher penalties in the fishing sector. The entry into assessment of its cod fishery re-confirms the producer association as a pioneer when it comes to sustainable fishing.
The fishery
The German Eastern and Western Baltic cod fishery is part of a producer association called Kutterfisch-Zentrale GmbH, which is based in the German coastal town of Cuxhaven. Kutterfisch-Zentrale was founded in 1964 for the processing of fish. Since 1998, the association also operates its own fishing fleet of eight vessels and markets its catch. It offers a broad range of species and fishes for saithe, herring, cod, haddock, flounders, hake, ling and plaice.
