Southwest beam trawl fishermen have committed to sustainable fishing practices as they have begun their bid to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for anglerfish, megrim and sole beam trawl fisheries. Following a pre-assessment in 2007 by independent certifier Moody Marine, the Channel and West Sustainable Trawling Group (C&WSTG ) entered full assessment for MSC certification today. The process is expected to take 12 months.
Improvements already underway
As part of their commitment towards sustainable fisheries management, the southwest skippers and owners have modernised and improved fishing gear to minimise catch of non-target species. Skippers have implemented a redesign and lightening of their trawling gear; replacing sledges with rollers and adding square mesh panels and larger mesh cod ends to ensure non-commercial benthic life and bycatch can escape and return to the seabed.
As a result of the changes, skippers report that there has been an improvement in the quality of landed fish and savings in fuel usage. The fishery hopes that continued development of this technology will have wider benefit for the seabed ecosystem.
Andrew Pillar, C&WSTG Project Chair said: ‘For us, entering MSC assessment is about the industry working in a positive manner to ensure that we can supply markets with sustainably-caught fish. Our skippers take pride in what we do and it is our ambition to demonstrate this by becoming MSC certified and help guarantee the future of our industry'
Government and retailers sponsor assessment
The project is being sponsored by the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), supermarket group The Cooperative Group and Natural England.
Huw Irranca Davies ,UK Minister for Marine and Natural Environment, says: “I wish the South West Beam Trawlers luck in MSC certification for sustainable fish. This sort of initiative shows the enthusiasm in the industry for improving the sustainability of the fish they catch, and the potential of partnerships between fishermen, scientists and the third sector. Consumers and retailers are becoming more and more interested in sustainable fish, and initiatives like this will help the fishing industry meet the demand. Innovation, improved practices and schemes that add extra value to the fish we catch will help the industry remain sustainable and viable for the future.”
Partnership organisation
The Channel and West Sustainable Trawling Group is an association formed in May 2006 to represent the responsible fishing practices of southwest trawl fishermen. It is a partnership of the following organisation which represent all trawlers based in the ports of Newlyn, Brixham, Plymouth and Shoreham: Cornish Fish Producer Organisation, South West Fish Producer Organisation, Interfish Producer Organisation, Seafood Cornwall, Seafood Devon & Dorset. External Sponsors of C&WSTG include the Co-operative Group, Natural England and DEFRA (Department for Environment Fisheries and Rural Affairs). Vessels from this fishery contribute approximately £30m to the local economy (first sale value) and the fishery employs approximately 300 people full time and indirectly approximately 800 people.
Further information
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