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THE independent certifier, Moody Marine, has suspended the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificate for Loch Torridon langoustine.
Any langoustine – and that includes what are known as Dublin Bay prawns, Nephrops or scampi – caught in Loch Torridon, a sea loch off Scotland's north west coast, after January 11th this year can no longer be described as ‘MSC certified.’
The suspension comes after increased fishing pressure in the area caused by creel-fishing boats being attracted to the fishery. Many of the extra boats have not signed-up to the voluntary Management Plan Code of Conduct for the fishery under the Torridon Nephrops Management Group.
The MSC said that as the numbers of extra boats increased, the potential problems that this might cause were identified in the 2009 recertification which included a condition on effort control within the fishery area.
To date, the fishery client has not been able, either by themselves or through working with relevant management bodies, to establish management authority over the fishery that would prevent a further fall in local langoustine abundance.
Moody Marine said the main problem with the sustainable management of this fishery was the inability to control the level of fishing effort within the closed area. As long as this area was open to allcomers, with over half the fleet not having signed up to the management plan code of conduct, it was not possible to respond to the need to reduce fishing effort to maintain or rebuild stocks.
Claire Pescod, UK Fisheries Outreach Manager for the MSC, said: “This is an unfortunate situation and, while the MSC acknowledges the efforts the Torridon Nephrops Management Group ( TNMG ) has made, the long term sustainability of the stock must come first.
"The recertification and annual surveillance elements of the MSC programme are there to identify important changes in fisheries and in this instance identified the risk to the stock due to increased fishing pressure and management control issues. I hope the TNMG will continue to work to establish a robust management framework for the fishery with the long term sustainability of the stock integrated into their management practices."
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