 |
Commercial Fishingnews, events, and other information for the commercial fishing, aquaculture, and seafood industries |
 |
Article Categories
By
Published: September 23, 2009
Print
Email
The Cornish sardine fishery has started an assessment for the coveted Marine Stewardship Council eco-label. If successful, the 14 boats catching sardines with ring nets and drift nets within six nautical miles of the Cornwall coast will be certified as a well-managed, sustainable fishery.
The fishery has already completed part of an MSC assessment: it took part in a pilot assessment to establish a new method for assessing the sustainability of fisheries with limited data – a situation often found in small fisheries and those in the developing world. The fishery’s success in the pilot – part-sponsored by Marks and Spencer – enabled it to go forward for the full assessment.
The Cornish sardine fishery dates back to 1555. Traditionally, fishermen would set out to catch fish when cliff-top lookouts spotted the shoals of sardines in the shallow coastal bays. The knowledge of where the shoals congregate has been passed down the generations although sonar has now replaced the cliff-top lookouts.
The fishery in assessment catches sardines from the English Channel stock in areas around Mounts Bay and Mevagissey Bay on the Cornish south coast. Recent landings range from 1,000MT to 1,500MT per year.
Nick Howell, Chairman of the Cornish Sardine Management Association says: “The strength of the Cornish Sardine fishery has been a direct result of the retailers, processors, fishermen and regulators combining their experience to achieve a common goal which was the creation of a market through the development and supply of new product lines from an previously underutilised fishery. Not an easy task in the fishing industry.”
Nathan de Rozarieux, Project Director of Seafood Cornwall said: “This is great news for a great little fishery. Since 1997 when the fishery re-emerged it has gone from strength from strength and today the Cornish Sardine brand is synonymous with quality and sustainability so it is logical to seek independent recognition of this through MSC assessment”
Chris Ninnes, Deputy Chief Exec of the MSC added: “On behalf of the MSC, I’d like to thank the Cornish Sardine Management Association (CSMA) and the Cornish sardine fishermen for their hard work in the pilot assessment. Thanks to their work – and the work of fisheries like them – we now have a tool for certifiers to use to assess data-poor fisheries around the world. I would particularly like to thank all of the organisations who supported the pilot: CEFAS, Defra, the Marine Fisheries Authority, Cornish Sea Fisheries Committee, Seafish industry authority, Seafood Cornwall and Marks & Spencer. I am sure that the growing commercial support for the MSC programme will result in an increased interest in the Cornish sardine fishery once the assessment has completed. I wish the CSMA and the Cornish sardine fishermen they represent a speedy and successful assessment.”
Source: MSC press release
Submit Article
Published: September 23, 2009
Print
EmailThe Cornish sardine fishery has started an assessment for the coveted Marine Stewardship Council eco-label. If successful, the 14 boats catching sardines with ring nets and drift nets within six nautical miles of the Cornwall coast will be certified as a well-managed, sustainable fishery.
The fishery has already completed part of an MSC assessment: it took part in a pilot assessment to establish a new method for assessing the sustainability of fisheries with limited data – a situation often found in small fisheries and those in the developing world. The fishery’s success in the pilot – part-sponsored by Marks and Spencer – enabled it to go forward for the full assessment.
The Cornish sardine fishery dates back to 1555. Traditionally, fishermen would set out to catch fish when cliff-top lookouts spotted the shoals of sardines in the shallow coastal bays. The knowledge of where the shoals congregate has been passed down the generations although sonar has now replaced the cliff-top lookouts.
The fishery in assessment catches sardines from the English Channel stock in areas around Mounts Bay and Mevagissey Bay on the Cornish south coast. Recent landings range from 1,000MT to 1,500MT per year.
Nick Howell, Chairman of the Cornish Sardine Management Association says: “The strength of the Cornish Sardine fishery has been a direct result of the retailers, processors, fishermen and regulators combining their experience to achieve a common goal which was the creation of a market through the development and supply of new product lines from an previously underutilised fishery. Not an easy task in the fishing industry.”
Nathan de Rozarieux, Project Director of Seafood Cornwall said: “This is great news for a great little fishery. Since 1997 when the fishery re-emerged it has gone from strength from strength and today the Cornish Sardine brand is synonymous with quality and sustainability so it is logical to seek independent recognition of this through MSC assessment”
Chris Ninnes, Deputy Chief Exec of the MSC added: “On behalf of the MSC, I’d like to thank the Cornish Sardine Management Association (CSMA) and the Cornish sardine fishermen for their hard work in the pilot assessment. Thanks to their work – and the work of fisheries like them – we now have a tool for certifiers to use to assess data-poor fisheries around the world. I would particularly like to thank all of the organisations who supported the pilot: CEFAS, Defra, the Marine Fisheries Authority, Cornish Sea Fisheries Committee, Seafish industry authority, Seafood Cornwall and Marks & Spencer. I am sure that the growing commercial support for the MSC programme will result in an increased interest in the Cornish sardine fishery once the assessment has completed. I wish the CSMA and the Cornish sardine fishermen they represent a speedy and successful assessment.”
Source: MSC press release
Submit Article