The certification body, Food Certification International Ltd (FCI), first seeks to open a dialogue with all organizations or individuals with a direct interest in the Germany North Sea brown shrimp fishery. FCI has invited opinion or information to the assessment process but it should be relevant to the status of the stock, ecosystem interactions or fishery management practices.
The location of the fisheries is within North Sea ICES subareas IVa, b and c. The method used is shrimp trawl. Fisheries core management area is the Wadden Sea – an area listed a European Marine Protected Area (MPA), a provision that falls under the Bird and Habitat Directive (BHD) of the European Union. Under this classification, anthropogenic activity taking place in this area is authorised only on the condition that sufficient evidence can be delivered which demonstrates that activities are not detrimental to the marine ecosystem.
Since the fishery is within the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) it is not considered a pressure stock fishery, and so is not subject to management by TAC. It is, however, the subject of ongoing scrutiny for stock assessment and management purposes, and such work is coordinated through a fishery specific ICES working group.
The main commercial market of this shrimp, typically cooked and cooled down on board of the vessels, landed to shore and transported to the premises of two Dutch owned processors that specialise in, and dominate, this trade. The assessment is expected to take in the region of 12-13 months and scheduled for completion towards the beginning of 2011.
