Certifier confirms Independent Adjudicator’s decision on Faroese mackerel in MSC assessment

Independent certifier, Det Norske veritas (DNV) has confirmed the Independent Adjudicator's decision to uphold an objection to the certification of the Faroese Pelagic Organisation North East Atlantic mackerel fishery to the MSC standard, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to MSC. DNV noted that:

In accordance with the decision of the independent adjudicator followed by the decision of the experts involved in this assessment, the performance indicator 3.1.1 has been rescored to reflect the issue raised by this objection process. Based on the fact that the management framework did not deliver an agreed TAC allocation key for all of the coastal states SG 60 is not met for the first scoring issue in performance indicator 3.1.1. The overall results of the assessment therefore concluded that Det Norske Veritas has determined that the fishery should not be certified in accordance to the MSC principles and criteria.

Although the decision is not the first certification decision to be altered as a result of an Objection, this is the first fishery to have a score lowered below the 60 threshold on a performance indicator, resulting in the fishery not reaching the MSC Standard.

Report available

The full Public Certification Report on the FPO North East Atlantic mackerel fishery is available from the downloads section for this fishery. Please note, the fishery has not been certified to the MSC Standard and the report name only reflects the end of the assessment process in this case.