Certificate of the Marine Stewardship Council- MSC label. Photo: Elma Okic
Contact: Karin Glaumann
The pelagic fisheries for herring and sprat caught with midwater trawls and purse seines are undergoing assessment to qualify for certification by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The fish stocks are shared by four Baltic fishing nations: Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Sweden. The assessors public comment draft report made available in early April concludes that the fisheries are eligible for certification.
The WWF partner offices in these fishing nations, including Poland and partner office Estonian Fund for Nature have, raised several concerns on the proposed report. They advise against a certification of all the assessed fisheries.
The fishing pressure on some of the stocks has been and continues to be above sustainable fishing levels according to scientific advice. This is compounded by misreporting of catches, yielding a false impression of actual catch rates and stock availability. Both sprat and herring, are known to be an important food source for the eastern Baltic cod, which has limited food available. At present the cod stocks are weak which resulted in a fishing ban since mid 2019.
The NGOs have responded to the assessors report with the concern that the assessment has not carefully evaluated the data, nor evidence of the stock status and the fishing mortality of the targeted species along with their key role in the Baltic ecosystem food web. Furthermore, for a sustainable fishery, landing controls need to improve, to ensure that catches are reported correctly.
This article is part of the WWF Baltic Newsletter – May 2020
