Certifier : 
Control Union (UK) Limited
Certified status : 
Combined with another assessment
Certified since : 
25 Jan 2011
Certificate expires : 
08 Sep 2016

Overview

Fisheries are composed of one or more parts, each of which is entitled to receive an MSC certificate. These parts or “units” are defined by their target stock(s), fishing gear type(s) and if relevant vessel type(s), and the fishing fleets or groups of vessels.

Attention

Some or all units that participated in this fishery are now covered by another assessment. Please see the Scapeche, Euronor and Compagnie de Peche de St Malo saithe for more information.

Units of Certification & Certificate Information

  • No longer in the program
    MSC UoC Number Species Gear Type Ocean Area Status (Units of Certification) Certificate Code
    UoC-0261 Saithe(=Pollock) (Pollachius virens) Trawls - Bottom trawls - otter trawls 27 (Atlantic, Northeast) Withdrawn MEC-F-006
    UoC-0262 Saithe(=Pollock) (Pollachius virens) Trawls - Bottom trawls - otter trawls 27 (Atlantic, Northeast) Withdrawn MEC-F-005

View glossary of terms

About this Fishery

This fishery is the merger of two certified fisheries and covers the North East Atlantic, including areas in the North Sea, West Scotland and Arctic.

Saithe (Pollachius virens) is a member of the cod family, and occurs only in the northern Atlantic. Saithe are distributed in coastal waters until they reach maturity at about three years, after which they migrate offshore and live in depths from 200m to 400m. Adult saithe are widely distributed in the deeper waters of the north Atlantic from the Barents Sea, around Greenland and Iceland reaching as far south as the Bay of Biscay.

Saithe were once widely consumed, and are still known locally by a range of names including blockan, coalfish (reflecting the fish’s dark, almost black pigmentation of the back), cuithe, gilpin and sillock. For modern marketing they are now usually referred to as coley.

In this fishery the saithe are caught using demersal otter trawling, where a cone-shaped net is towed behind a vessel close to and/or in contact with the seabed.