May 14, 2013 — The Hokkaido Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Association’s scallop fishery has achieved certification to the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) global standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.
Total catch in the fishing area covered by the certification in 2012 reached 410,000 metric tonnes, making it the world’s largest scallop harvest. The scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) is supplied not only to domestic markets but also to Southeast Asia, as well as to Europe and the US where demand for MSC-labelled seafood is high.
These Hokkaido scallops are now eligible to bear the blue MSC ecolabel which assures shoppers and seafood buyers that they are traceable to an MSC certified fishery.
The certified fishery comprises three certification units; spat collection, hanging cultivation (Suika-shiki) as well as seabed ranching and dredge cultivation (Keta-Ami). Hanging cultivation is conducted along the coast of Funka bay and in Lake Saroma. The seabed ranching and dredge occurs in the Sea of Okhotsk and the eastern side of Hokkaido in the Nemuro Straits. Both fisheries initially collect spat from the wild and operate along the coast 1 km to 10 km offshore in waters that are 15 to 50 meters deep.
Read the full story at The Fish Site