Norway Prawns SA is the main northern shrimp suppliers to UK and Europe and now the company can display the international ecolabel on the shelves as Friend of the Sea announces a break-through certification of one of the main European supplier of Pandalus borealis (Northern Shrimp).
It is told that the products marketed by Norway Prawns SA and produced by Nergaard Reker AS, Stella Polaris AS and Lyngen Reker AS, will carry the international sustainability ecolabel on the shelves in UK, Sweden and other main markets in Europe, reassuring consumers on their sustainable origin. An international independent certification body has audited the fishery, which is composed of 60 inshore and 40 offshore trawler vessels targeting the Northern Shrimp in the Barents Sea 62 degree North in the Svalbard area and Norwegian economic zone.
It is said that in this area the use of BRD Sorting grids (Normore grate) is compulsory, making the fishery compliant with Friend of the Sea strict bycatch and discard standards.
According to ICES the Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) in the Barents Sea, ICES Div. I and II is harvested sustainably and within precautionary limits. It is underexploited and has full reproductive capacity.
Figures and facts from the national authorities and FAO show discard level is considerably lower than 8 percent and as a matter of fact discarding is prohibited and the entire catch must be brought to shore and accounted for on official landing receipt. A regulation is enforced closing fishing areas if bycatch of small juvenile fish exceeds certain limits.
The Northern shrimp fisheries are well controlled by the Directorate of Fisheries, the Coast Guard and the sales organisation Norges Råfisklag. This means that the Directorate of Fisheries checks the trawlers’ position at sea every 2 hours. Shrimp and mesh size measurements are run periodically by the control body.
