Danish Haddock Now MSC Certified

"A very ambitious goal that gives hope for longer term sustainable fishing," says Minna Epps, Regional Manager for MSC Baltic Sea Region. "The haddock is the penultimate in a series of different fish species for DFPO under assessment for certification to the MSC standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries."

The certificate means, subject to traceability certification, that haddock from this fishery will be eligible to bear the coveted blue MSC eco label, which provides consumers with assurance that the product is traceable to a certified sustainable source.

"We are happy and proud that yet another one of our fisheries has proved itself to be sustainable. This shows that our commitment to secure both todays and future fish stocks are worth the efforts and we hope that consumers will contribute by making sound choices at the fish counter as well." says Kurt S Madsen, chairman, Danish Fiskermens Producers Organization.

The fisherys activities are carried out throughout the year in the North Sea and the Skagerrak, within The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Area IV, Division IIIa, of the FAO statistical area 27. It employs demersal trawl (including Scottish Seine), Danish seine, longline, gill- and trammel nets. The fishery is managed by the EU Member States through a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) system. Inspections of the fishery (both at-sea and on-shore) are carried out by the Danish Fisheries Directorate, as well as EU national enforcement agencies and the Norwegian coastguard.

ICES provides the scientific advice for commercially exploited fish stocks in the North Sea. The Danish fleet catches approximately 2,400 tonnes annually out of the the 41,575 tonnes TAC set for 2012.

The haddock caught by the MSC certified fishery is mainly exported chilled, but can also be sold frozen and fileted to the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands.