NZ Hoki fishery: third certification for sustainable fishery

September 28, 2012

New Zealand Hoki fishery achieves its third certification for a sustainable fishery

New Zealand’s popular white fish, Hoki, has been awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for a sustainable fishery for a third time, one of the first fisheries in the world to do so.

MSC Manager of Australia and New Zealand, Patrick Caleo, said the Hoki fishery’s long-term commitment to sustainability has led to many improvements in management which have contributed to reducing the environmental impact of the fishery.

“The Deepwater Group, which represents the Hoki quota owners and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) have worked together to actively develop and apply new methods and strategies to reduce interactions with seabirds and fur seals.”

“Seeking and achieving MSC certification for a third time shows the MSC is delivering solid benefits to the fishery. Thanks to the effective management of the fishery by the MPI and fishing industry itself, this fishery has clearly demonstrated significant levels of stock recovery,” said Mr Caleo.

The fishery has been independently assessed by international accredited auditors, Intertek Moody Marine, to meet the global MSC standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.

Also speaking today, CEO of the Deepwater Group, George Clement, said the independent verification of the fishery’s sustainability for a third time is recognition of the fishery’s’ dedication to environmental improvements.

“The New Zealand Hoki fishery was just the third fishery in the world to gain MSC certification back in 2001. We then achieved certification again in 2007 and now for the third time in 2012. This is testament to the industry’s commitment to continuous improvement and to the close collaborative partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries.”

The partnership with the MPI has enabled quota owners and government to align their strategic and operational objectives, resulting in a long-term science and information plan and an increase in the annual investment in monitoring and research.

Hoki is New Zealand’s third highest earning fish species, earning more than $NZ180million last calendar year, making it a vital part of the country’s economy.

“This is also fantastic news for MSC certified sustainable seafood products around the world. There are many fish fillet and fish finger products baring the MSC blue ecolabel that come from the New Zealand Hoki fisheries, so people can continue to enjoy tasty seafood sustainably,” said Mr Caleo.

The MSC maintains the most widely respected and accepted global standard for the certification of wild capture seafood. The program is based on a rigorous science-based standard and independent, third-party assessment by internationally accredited certification bodies. The MSC standard is defined by three core principles: the status of the fish stock, the impact of the fishery on the marine ecosystem, and the management system overseeing the fishery.

The distinctive MSC blue ecolabel is an assurance to buyers and consumers worldwide confirming that the seafood is fully traceable to a sustainable fishery that has been awarded MSC certification.

About the MSC

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organisation set up to help transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC runs the only certification and eco-labelling program for wild-capture fisheries consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries. These guidelines are based upon the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing and require that credible fishery certification and eco-labelling schemes include:

• Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilizing scientific evidence;
• Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
• Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

The MSC has offices in London, Sydney, Singapore, Seattle, Tokyo, The Hague, Glasgow, Berlin, Cape Town, Paris, Madrid and Stockholm.

In total, over 287 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 178 certified and 109 under full assessment. Another 40 to 50 fisheries are in confidential pre-assessment.

Together, fisheries already certified or in full assessment record annual catches of close to ten million metric tonnes of seafood. This represents over 11 per cent of the annual global harvest of wild capture fisheries. Certified fisheries currently land over seven million metric tonnes of seafood annually – close to eight per cent of the total harvest from wild capture fisheries. Worldwide, more than 15,000 seafood products, which can be traced back to the certified sustainable fisheries, bear the blue MSC ecolabel.

For more information on the work of the MSC, please visit www.msc.org

ENDS

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