The Australia Orange Roughy (Eastern zone) fishery is set to be certified to the MSC Fisheries Standard by auditor MRAG Americas following the decision of an independent adjudicator. The certificate will be valid for five years until February 2030 and will be subject to annual surveillance audits.
To be certified to the MSC Fisheries Standard, the Australia Orange Roughy fishery demonstrated they achieved an average scoring of at least 80 out of 100 across the three principles of the MSC Fisheries Standard which is comprised of 25 key performance indicators covering sustainable fish stocks, minimising environmental impact and effective management.
The third-party assessment was put under further consideration during an independent adjudication hearing triggered by an Objection received by the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).
The Notice of Objection from AMCS focused on the eligibility of orange roughy for MSC certification. It questioned whether the species could be assessed as a target species against the MSC Fisheries Standard whilst also being listed as Conservation Dependent under Australian legislation.
The challenge around biological health of the fishery came down to the connectivity between two neighbouring populations of orange roughy and if the required precautionary approach was being applied.
Following a two-day hearing it is the decision of the independent adjudicator, John McKendrick KC that the objection is dismissed and therefore the Australia Orange Roughy Eastern Zone fishery will be certified. A decision by the Independent Adjudicator is final.
The independent adjudicator found that there was no procedural error, and the required precautionary approach was applied correctly.
As the standard setter, the MSC is independent of the certification and objections process and is grateful to stakeholder participation. The MSC thanks all parties involved in the process, including the fishery, the third-party auditor MRAG Americas, the independent adjudicator John McKendrick KC, participating stakeholder Australian Marine Conservation Society, and the peer reviewers.
Stakeholder contributions are valuable and contribute to thorough fishery assessments.
