Moody Marine Ltd. Was asked by an Independent Adjudicator to amend the Final Report of the Ross Sea toothfish assessment to take into account his decision to uphold four of the objections lodged by the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) against the certification.
Michael Lodge, an Independent Adjudicator, told that the certifier failed to provide adequate evidence to justify the high scores awarded on four specific performance indicators. These relate to the evaluation of harvest strategies, management and regulation of vessels, and the extent and effectiveness of stakeholder consultation by the relevant national and regional management bodies.
Lodge has accepted the certifier’s justification for retaining the score on seven of the performance indicators remanded. He also accepted that the certifier had adequately considered stakeholder comments submitted during the assessment, and therefore dismissed an objection on procedural grounds.
Lodge’s decision is the final and no further appeal or objection is permitted within MSC’s assessment process. In order to progress with the assessment process Moody Marine will be required to incorporate the Adjudicator’s findings into a revised Final Report.
