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The MSC certificate of the cod fishery in Faroese waters is being suspended from September 14 , reports FISF
The MSC certificate of the cod fishery in Faroese waters is being suspended, reports Faroe Islands Sustainable Fisheries.
Faroe Islands Sustainable Fisheries (FISF) is a collaboration between the fishing industry and the research environment in the Faroe Islands with the purpose to foster sustainable fisheries in our oceans. We want to contribute to the availability of fish products from sustainable fisheries.
“The spawning stock of the cod in Faroese waters is below the limit set by ICES. MSC has therefore announced that the MSC certificate of the fishery is being suspended,” writes FISF. “We are harmful about the situation, but the latest estimate of the cod stock requires this outcome. The temporary suspension is effective from September 14th, which implies that cod caught after this date cannot be sold as MSC certified.”
A large and growing part of the Faroese fisheries has been certified as sustainable fisheries by the MSC. For the FISF, this has been a very satisfactory development for the fishing industry, but this is seen as a negative.
“It is therefore very harmful that the MSC certificate of the cod fishery is being suspended only one year after achieving the certification,” they write.
“The fishery for cod in Faroese waters has complied by all rules set in the management plan, where the Faroese authorities have taken the consequences of the recommendations from ICES and lowered the number of fishing days. But the lates estimate of the stock is however so low, that the fishery no longer complies with the requirements in the MSC standard, since the estimated stock is below the limit set by ICES,” says the organisation.
Too small spawning stock is the reason for the suspension
The latest estimate from ICES of the spawning stock of cod in Faroese waters is very low. This is below the level that the biological advice of ICES deems to be sustainable.
FISF concluded by saying, “Estimates of the stock are done on an annual basis, wherefore the fishing industry has to be patient with regards to regaining the MSC certificate for the cod fishery. The Faroe Marine Research Institute is currently performing the regular surveillance fishing operations in Faroese waters. The data from these test fishing activities will then be processed, whereafter the new estimates of the stocks based on these catch data will be published later this year. It is possible to regain the certificate, when these stock estimates show that the spawning stock is at a reasonable level.”
