The certification body, Moody Marine Ltd, has announced that scallop fishery of southern New Zealand fishery has entered full assessment. Moody Marine seeks to open a dialogue with all organisations or individuals with a direct interest in the fishery. According to Moody anyone wishing to give comments or information to the assessment process may contact the office.
The location of the fishery is in the coastal waters of the northern part of the South Island within Golden Bay, Tasman Bay and the Marlborough Sounds. The fishing methods used for the fishery is dredge. It is told that the New Zealand southern scallop fishery is managed within the framework of the Fisheries Act 1996. A significant feature of the fishery’s management is strong co-management between the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries and the Challenger Scallop Enhancement Company, a company owned by quota owners in the fishery.
According to the information the fishery is managed under a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) allocated across commercial, recreational and customary fishing interests. The Southern scallop fishery has an enhancement programme by which spat collected from spat catching sites (within the fishery area) for reseeding within other areas of the fishery.The main commercial market for this fishery is France. A component of the catch is also consumed in the local domestic market as fresh product.
The process of this final assessment is expected to take 11 months and is scheduled for completion in or around March 2010. Please see the download section for a detailed assessment timeline.
