Saving Seafood

Northern Cod Fisheries Improvement Project to Aid in Understanding of Stock Components

April 24, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — A Northern Cod Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) will help researchers understand Northern Cod stock components and their movement along the slope of the continental shelf, as well as their inshore offshore migration patterns.

The project is being led by the Groundfish Allocation Council (GEAC) and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) in an effort to “enable more effective stock assessment modeling and management measures to control fishing mortality.” Acoustic receivers will be dropped in waters off Eastern Canada and acoustic tags will be placed on Northern cod.

“This is crucial work, and an important piece in addressing longstanding scientific questions around the Northern cod resource,” said FIP co-chairs Derek Butler, Executive Director of ASP, and Bruce Chapman, President of GEAC.

Government scientists, as well as academia from Memorial University, Dalhousie University, the Ocean Tracking Network, and the Ocean Frontier Institute, andindustry reps from Icewater Seafoods and Ocean Choice International of Canada, and Davigel Inc. of France, sat in on a scientific workshop for the research program. The group came up with a final deployment plan for the acoustic tags and receivers.

Industry stakeholders reported on the progress at their third annual FIP Working Group meeting in Brussels.

This story was originally published by Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of the first Canadian Atlantic cod stock shows positive progress

The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

TORONTO – March 22, 2016 — The Canada Newfoundland 3Ps cod fishery has become the country’s first Atlantic cod fishery to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as sustainable and well managed.

This milestone certification marks a new page in the history of Atlantic cod in Canada. It signals to the world that collaborative efforts from fisheries, industry, government and NGOs have the power to improve the health of fish stocks while sustaining hope for the communities that rely on fishing for their livelihoods.

Meeting the world’s most recognized standard for sustainability

To achieve MSC certification the 3Ps cod fishery demonstrated that it meets a high bar of sustainability set by the MSC Fishery Standard.  Widely recognized as the world’s most credible and robust standard for sustainable fishing, the MSC Standard is founded on three principles: a healthy fish stock, protection of the surrounding marine ecosystem, and effective fishery management.

“We are proud of the work completed by everyone involved in the journey to achieving MSC certification for 3Ps cod,” says Alberto Wareham, CEO of Icewater Seafoods Ltd, a member of the client group for the MSC certification. “As the seventh generation of my family working in this fishery, sustainability is important to us. I know it is also important to our customers and we are confident that the MSC certification will provide the assurance that our cod comes from a sustainable and well-managed source. It will also help the fishery remain sustainable through the natural ecosystem variations experienced off our coasts.

See the full release at the Marine Stewardship Council