WWF takes on MSC over plaice trawl
By Lewis Smith
April 04 2011 Lewis Smith
Plaice
One of the founders of the Marine Stewardship Council has condemned attempts to certify a bottom trawling fishery as sustainable.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) issued a scathing assessment of an application to get the Danish North Sea plaice trawl fishery issued with the prestigious MSC eco-label.
In 1997 the WWF, in partnership with Unilever, set up the MSC to help consumers pick seafood to eat with the assurance that it comes from sustainably-fished stocks.
But now in a furious denunciation of bottom trawling techniques, one of the most destructive forms of fishing, it has said the credibility of the label with be brought into question if the fishery’s application is approved.
It is thought to be the first time the WWF has opposed the certification of a European fishery, though it has previously condemned attempts to get New Zealand hoki certified as sustainable.
The application has been judged by independent assessors but Richard Holland, the chief executive of WWF Netherlands, accused them of being too lenient towards the fishery, scoring it too highly and failing to follow MSC rules.
In his letter of objection, sent on behalf of WWF Netherlands, WWF Germany, WWF Denmark and the North Sea Foundation, he said: “The practice of bottom trawling can cause significant and irreversible harm to benthic ecosystems and species, raising questions about its environmental sustainability.”
He added, however that despite it taking on its own creation the WWF still believes in the importance of the MSC and the system of eco-labelling: “WWF, as a strong supporter of the MSC, believes that objections are an important tool provided by the MSC to strengthen the assessment process.”
Carel Drijvers, head of the Oceans and Coasts Programme for WWF Netherlands, said the otter trawling technique used by the fishery needs to be changed to a less destructive method that travels over the seabed more slowly.
Equally, he said there should be bigger mesh sizes, allowing smaller and juvenile fish to escape, and excluder devices.
The WWF is also calling for the Danish North Sea plaice trawl be compelled, as part of the conditions of any eco-label, to avoid several areas of the seabed which combine silt and sand and are the among the richest habitats for marine life in the region.
The assessors, Food Cetification International (FCI), agreed after the objection to change one of the scores but were confident the rest were fair and they insisted they had conducted a fair and rigourous assessment.
They said of the claim that the trawlers would create irreversible damage: “It has been possible to show that fishing effort does not overlap with important known areas of vulnerable or sensitive species, such as Lophellia or sabillaria reefs. All of these factors point to a conclusion of ‘highly unlikely to create serious or irreversible harm’.”
However, it agreed to introduce new conditions that mean the fishery operators have a greater obligation to operate the “precautionary principle” to make it more unlikely that stocks can be damaged through seabed distrubance. The assessors pointed out that the terms are stiffer than for other MSC-certified fisheries. FCI also noted the fishery operators have recently agreed a Code of Conduct which includes measures designed to reduce environmental impact.
A spokesman for the MSC said: “MSC, as the standard setter, doesn't comment on independent fishery assessments that are in process. The DFPO Denmark North Sea plaice trawl fishery is currently going through the Objections process with an Objection lodged by WWF Netherlands – one of the stakeholders engaged in the fishery assessment.
"Stakeholder input in MSC assessments is one of the assessment process’s most powerful aspects. Fishery stakeholders’ involvement helps to ensure that the assessment is well-informed, conforms with the rigorous MSC Standard and that issues that are important to them or their organisations are taken into account.”
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