The Icelandic Sustainable Fisheries (ISF) golden redfish (Sebastes marinus) fishery has been given the first ever Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for golden redfish following a 17-month assessment.
The MSC’s Gisli Gislason confirmed that the ISF becomes the first golden redfish fishery in the world to gain the MSC certifications as “a well-managed and sustainable fishery”. He revealed that during the assessment they felt the interest from the market and the eNGOs, with the latter developing a better client action plan.
He went on to say they now hope the fact that there is such a high demand for MSC certified redfish will encourage other redfish fisheries to seek full assessment and carry out the necessary improvements.
ISF spokesman Gunnlaugur Eiriksson said that customers value to golden redfish certification. He explained that their German markets regard the redfish as important and he hopes their new certification would encourage German retailers and shoppers to opt for the MSC certified sustainable redfish.
He went on to say that the ISF regards reducing their benthic impact and protecting the ocean floor as very important. He pointed out that Iceland was known for its sustainable fishing and they would now look forward to working more alongside the Smart Fishing Initiative and the WWF.