Certifier : 
DNV
Certified status : 
Combined with another assessment
Certified since : 
13 Oct 2015
Certificate expires : 
31 Oct 2020

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 Joint demersal fisheries in the North Sea and adjacent waters 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)
    UoC-1060 Northern prawn (Pandalus borealis) Trawls - Bottom trawls - shrimp trawls 27 (Atlantic, Northeast) Withdrawn

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Catch by Species

Species Reported Catch Year Metric Tonnes
Northern prawn (Pandalus borealis) 2016 2,095

Information is provided by an independent Conformity Assessment Body as live weight (the weight of species at the time of catch, before processing) and where a fishing season covers multiple years, the end year is given as the reported catch year. Additional information is available in the latest report, see the assessments page.

About this Fishery

This fishery is one of several catching the northern or coldwater prawn. It was MSC certified in 2015. 

The species (Pandalus borealis) is distributed across the North Atlantic around the Barents Sea, Svalbard, Iceland and Greenland and south to the North Sea and Massachusetts, and across the North Pacific from the Bering Sea south to Japan and Oregon.

The fishery uses otter trawl nets, which are held open by trawl doors. The minimum mesh size in this fishery is 35 mm. However, almost all Swedish vessels voluntarily use 45 mm mesh size in order to avoid catching smaller prawns. 

Cold water prawn (Pandalus borealis) image © Scandinavian Fishing Year Book

Market Information

Main products are cooked shell-on shrimp which are sold mainly to the Swedish market. Fresh raw shrimp goes to peeling plants in Denmark and Sweden.