May 11, 2012 – THE Full Bay Scallop Association in Canada has entered an Atlantic sea scallop fishery into assessment to the Marine Stewardship Council’s standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.
If successful, products would be eligible to display the blue MSC ecolabel. The FBSA fleet is comprised of approximately 55 operating vessels ranging in size from 45 to 65 feet.
The fishery takes place in Canadian waters in the North West Atlantic primarily in the Bay of Fundy and Area 29, a nearby fishing zone adjacent to Nova Scotia. Scallop beds in these areas have been commercially fished since the mid-1800s. Total Allowable Catch in this area in 2010-11 was 1,265 tonnes, of which the FBSA client share is 69.5 percent. In 2009, the FBSA fleet landed 831 mt for an approximate value of $12 million. The gear type used is Digby fishing dredge, which is a steel cage towed along the seafloor.
The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans manages the fishery and establishes annual catch limits, fishing areas and management measures, including limited entry licensing, shell size and scallop meat counts based on weight, individual transferable quotas, dockside and vessel monitoring. Every vessel in the FBSA uses a Vessel Monitoring System while fishing In addition, there is 100 per cent dockside observer weigh-out of the harvest and submission of documents for data entry.
The season is open all year with a concentration from early June and to early October. Fishing in Area 29 includes at-sea observer coverage developed in collaboration with the local lobster industry to monitor any lobster bycatch. In the Bay of Fundy, vessels can retain landed monkfish, but all winter skates must be returned to the water with the least amount of harm. In Area 29, all bycatch must be returned causing the least amount of harm.