Eastern Atlantic zone where the Icelandic fleet fishing for blue whiting operates. (Map: MSC)
Icelandic blue whiting fishery receives MSC certification
ICELAND
Saturday, January 20, 2018, 01:40 (GMT + 9)
The Icelandic Sustainable Fisheries, (ISF) blue whiting fishery obtained a certification by the Det Norske Veritas (DNV GL) Conformity Assessment Body, against the MSC Fisheries Standard.
The Icelandic vessels capture the blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) by means of pelagic fishing arts in Icelandic, Faroese and international waters.
The blue whiting is also a main target species to vessels from Norway, Feroe Islands and the UE.
The vessels work with tested and certified pelagic trawl and bottom trawling gears. Most of the catches are used to produce fishmeal and oil, and a small amount is frozen for human consumption. Fishmeal and oil is exported to Norway for fish feed production.
“At ISF we are really pleased that blue whiting fisheries by all Icelandic registered vessels using pelagic and bottom gear has been granted an MSC certification,” Kristinn Hjálmarsson Project manager at Iceland Sustainable Fishery, said.
“Roughly 90 percent of all catch landed by Icelandic vessels is now from MSC certified fisheries and the challenges ahead are clear,” she added.
On his part, Gísli Gíslason, MSC Senior Program Manager in Iceland, Faroes and Greenland congratulated ISF, since now all pelagic fisheries in Iceland have MSC certification.
In addition to blue whiting Atlanto Scandian herring, mackerel, capelin and Iceland summer spawning herring, have also been certified, and it is the only pelagic fishery in Iceland which is exclusively caught by Icelandic vessels.
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