IN what appears to be another effort to bring super trawlers into Australian waters, commercial fishing company Seafish Tasmania – which operates in the small pelagic fishery and had previously sought to bring the banned Magiris to Australia – has undertaken an assessment to attain Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.
This assessment reportedly examines the fishery’s impact on fish populations and the marine ecosystem and will study the fishery’s management processes to ensure that it is taking all steps necessary to protect the ocean environment for future generations.
MSC Country Manager for Australia, Patrick Caleo said the assessment against MSC certification is one of the hardest in the world to attain.
“An MSC assessment is science and evidence based. It is carried out by an independent assessment team and involves a high degree transparency and stakeholder involvement. All wild-capture fisheries are welcome to put themselves under the spotlight and scrutiny of this assessment process. Only well managed fisheries which ensure the long-term sustainability of fish stocks and keep ecosystems healthy achieve MSC certification,” said Mr Caleo.
Seafish Tasmania targets jack mackerel, redbait and blue mackerel in the small pelagic fishery and has contracted third-party independent auditors, SCS Global to carry out the 12 to 18 month assessment.
The assessment will measure the fishery against MSC’s standard for sustainable fishing based on three core principles:
Healthy populations of target stock; Reduced impact on the marine ecosystem (including bycatch and habitat impact); and, the effective management processes of the fishery.
Once certified the fishery must also be audited each year and improve on any conditions set to international best practice level, and be reassessed every five years.
