The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC ) has suspended its certification for the cod fishery in the Eastern Baltic Sea because of concern over the poor state of stocks. This means that cod caught in the area can no longer be bought or sold with the MSC ecolabel.
The MSC said an independent assessment of the fishery had shown that Eastern Baltic cod stocks no longer met the robust requirements of the MSC Fisheries Standard’.
Minna Epps, programme director for the MSC in Scandinavia and the Baltic region, said: The MSC Fisheries Standard is widely recognised as the most credible and robust measure for the sustainability of wild fisheries.
In order to be certified, fisheries must demonstrate that their activities are not causing fish stocks to decline.’
The suspension will affect cod fishing by several countries including Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Latvia and Poland. While it may not stop fishing, many retailers in the UK and Europe will not buy fish that does not have an MSC label.
Epps added: We hope that this will lead to all stakeholders working together to improve the management of the fishery, so that this suspension can be lifted.’
It was concluded that the 2015 stock assessment for eastern Baltic cod was insufficient to provide advice on stock status or reference points, which are required for robust and appropriate long term effective management of the fisheries.
These fisheries all target the same population of cod. Therefore, in accordance with the MSC’s requirements, the certification bodies responsible for certifying the fisheries must apply the same scoring for stock status.
Following an annual surveillance audit site visit for the Danish, German and Swedish fisheries, the certification bodies have concluded that all certified fisheries for eastern Baltic cod should be suspended.
The Danish Eastern Baltic cod fishery was the first fishery in the Baltic Sea to become certified in 2011. Since then, having the certificate has become a simple necessity in most of the markets where the cod is sold. The suspension of the MSC certificate for the Eastern Baltic cod fishery is therefore a sad day for the fishermen.
2015 FISHupdate