Brussels, 04/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification system has suspended, with effect from 31 March 2012, certification of North East Atlantic mackerel. This is due to the consequences of the dispute between the EU and Norway on the one hand and Iceland and the Faroe Isles on the other over the management of mackerel quotas in the North East Atlantic.
At the most recent Fisheries Council, on 19-20 March, most of the European ministers expressed concern at the sustainability of this stock, which is under threat from the unilateral fishing policy implemented by Iceland and the Faroe Isles (for several years, these countries have allocated themselves very high mackerel quotas). The Council called for the adoption process of the regulation allowing commercial sanctions to be imposed on Iceland and the Faroe Isles to be speeded up.
The MSC certification and eco-labelling programme recognises and rewards sustainable fishing. The certification bodies on 2 April announced the suspension of certification for seven mackerel fisheries in the North East Atlantic: DPPO (Denmark), IPSA (Ireland), pelagic trawl IPSG (Ireland), pelagic trawl, purse seine and hand line fishery of the North East Atlantic (Norway), Pelagic Freezer-Trawler Association (Netherlands), Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group - SPSG (United Kingdom) and Swedish Pelagic Producers Organisation (Sweden). “The suspension notice follows two years of catches above the scientific advice as a result of a significant increase in the amount of mackerel caught by countries outside the certified fleets and the breakdown of international agreements and negotiations aimed at managing the stock”, MSC explains. Any catches of mackerel after 30 March will therefore be unable to bear the MSC label. (LC/transl.fl)