Danish Fishers Set Anchor on Certification

Taulov, Denmark: Danish fishers in a landmark decision today announced they planned to adhere to the internationally-recognized marine stewardship standards -- putting a stop to years of overfishing and bycatch.

The Danish Fishermen's Association declared that all fish from Danish fisheries will be certified according to standards set by the Marine Stewardship Council by 2012.
"The Danish fishermen are now taking a huge step towards securing that Danish fisheries in the future will be sustainable,” says Espen Tind Nordberg, program manager for sustainable consumption at WWF Denmark. “This is an announcement we have been demanding for years.”

“Now the fishermen deserve true recognition and support to implement their ambitious plan.”
Only 52 fisheries are certified according to MSC's standards. Three of these fisheries are Danish. With the objective announced today, the Danish Fishermen’s Association aim to certify more than 30 fisheries, which on a global scale is a positive development.

Three of the most important fisheries in Demark – plaice, eastern Baltic Sea cod and Saithe -- are ready to enter full assessment. Meanwhile, the pre-assessment process is being undertaken for the remaining fisheries.

For several years, WWF has been promoting the MSC programme as the most environmentally friendly choice in producing seafood and now both consumers and large retailers are increasingly starting to demand MSC certified fish.

"The European and North American markets are experiencing a trend where the MSC certification is becoming a market requirement” said Nordberg. “The fact that Danish fishermen are now stepping up to the challenge is good news for fishstocks and marine ecosystems - and may also help to boost Danish export of fish and jobs in the processing sector.”.

However, the ambitious decision from the Danish fishing industry cannot stand alone. To truly document sustainability of such a large number of fisheries requires political support.
"MSC is the most ambitious and trustworthy certification scheme which is currently available, partly because it creates incentives for the fishermen to constantly raise the performance bar,” Nordberg said. “But the objective announced today will never materialize if the responsible ministers keep deciding unsustainable quotas”.

The MSC is the world's leading certification and ecolabelling program for sustainable seafood, according to its website.