May 15, 2018
Majority of New Zealand’s wild-caught seafood MSC certified as sustainable
With half of New Zealand’s total seafood production certified to the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) sustainability
standard and 70 percent of the deep water catch certified, New Zealand’s Deepwater Group (DWG) welcomes yesterday’s
inaugural Sustainable Seafood Day, which marked the 20th anniversary of MSC’s establishment.
Opening last night’s event, Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash highlighted MSC’s validation of New Zealand’s reputation for
well-managed, sustainable fisheries.
“MSC ‘s vision of the world’s oceans teeming with life, and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future
generations’ is relevant to and aligns with expectations of New Zealanders and is what we aim to deliver as Fisheries
New Zealand,” said Nash.
Panelists Dr Matt Dunn a scientist at NIWA, Volker Kuntzsch CEO of Sanford and Anne Gabriel of MSC offered insights on
what sustainable seafood meant to them and how MSC contributes to this.
“MSC facilitates a conversation among the different stakeholders, providing transparency and disclosure” said Gabriel.
Dr Dunn described how MSC is solidly underpinned by science, separating facts from opinions.
Kuntzch, who was with Unilever when they established MSC with WWF applauded the long and successful journey of
sustainable fisheries in New Zealand, noting he was involved in 2001 when hoki was first certified and it was our
reputation that attracted him to work in the New Zealand seafood industry.
The event celebrated New Zealand’s commitment to sustainable fisheries, as certified by MSC. MSC adopts an
ecosystem-based approach to assess the performance of each fishery against their internationally recognised standard.
sing a rigorous peer-reviewed science-based process, international experts assess each fishery against the three
principles and 28 performance indicators requiring a fishery:
· To be sustainable – fishing must be at a level that ensures it can continue indefinitely
· To ensure environmental impacts are not harmful to species – the fishery must be managed so that by-catch and
interactions with protected species and habitats are not adverse to their populations and that the ecosystem remains
healthy overall
· To have a robust management system – the fishery must comply with relevant laws and have a management system that
responds to changing circumstances.
New Zealand has 18 fisheries comprised of eight species, which annually harvest around 230,000 tonnes, certified to
MSC’s standard. New Zealand MSC certified species are: hoki, hake, ling, southern blue whiting, albacore tuna, orange
roughy, skipjack tuna, and Ross Sea toothfish.
George Clement, CEO Deepwater Group, said, “The Government and quota owners have demonstrated international leadership
and commitment to ensure the performance of our deepwater fisheries meet the world’s highest standards for
sustainability. Only 12 percent of the global fisheries production is MSC certified. We celebrate MSC’s independent
assessment that 70 percent of New Zealand’s deep water production is certified as sustainable.
“MSC Certification provides a tangible and credible way for consumers to purchase sustainable seafood.”
MSC Certification is for a five-year period, during which annual audits confirm that the fishery’s performance remains
fully compliant with MSC standards. After five years each fishery undergoes a new full reassessment in order to remain
certified.
This month, the draft reports on the re-assessments of the hake, hoki, ling and southern blue whiting fisheries have
been released for public comment. The assessors have concluded that all of these fisheries should be re-certified
without remedial conditions. This places these fisheries in the top 4 percent of the best performing fisheries in the
world.
ends