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Sanford Limited on Thursday welcomed shipping firm Maersk’s decision to quit shipping illegal unregulated and unreported (IUU) fish on its container shipping vessels across the globe. The seafood company called Maersk’s move “bizarre,” however. “Sanford, and I am sure the New Zealand industry, welcomes the removal of IUU and subsidised fish from world markets at the earliest possible opportunity because there is no doubt this will create extra value for countries and fisheries like New Zealand that practice sustainable management,” said Sanford Managing Director Eric Barratt.
The NZ industry is also pushing for certifying fisheries by Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards. MSC offers certification, traceability and logo promotion of certified fisheries as sustainable.
New Zealand’s hoki fishery has been MSC-certified for several years and the country is already in the process of entering its hake, ling and southern blue whiting fisheries plus some inshore fisheries into the certification process.
The New Zealand industry, Sanford told, has been involved in a number of initiatives to identify relevant Authorities vessels engaged in IUU fishing. Part of its effort comes in the form of its membership in the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO).
Sanford said the bizarre part of Maersk’s announcement is that it remains unclear how the latter will decide which seafood shipments comprise IUU fishing products and which do not.
The seafood firm declared this task is often enough difficult for governments, which lack some of the sophisticated controls and processes that New Zealand seafood exporters must comply with.
“We will be looking with interest to see how Maersk intends to deal with this. In the meantime we look forward to increased returns for New Zealand seafood if Maersk is able to restrict international trade in illegal fish,” Barratt said.
Meanwhile, NZ’s Ministry of Fisheries is assuring seafood consumers that they can have confidence in the management of the country’s fisheries, including southern bluefin tuna and orange roughy.
The Ministry said all of New Zealand’s fisheries are carefully managed to guarantee sustainability by using the world leading quota management system. The country collaborates closely with others as part of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to manage the Ross Sea and its fisheries.
“New Zealand has been a leading voice on putting in place effective global measures to manage southern bluefin tuna and encouraging all nations to take action,” Ministry of Fisheries Deputy Chief Executive Fisheries Management Gavin Lockwood said regarding the species’ especially fragile state.
A package has been put in place to protect bluefin tuna and orange roughy. For tuna, it includes a 20 per cent cut in tuna catches plus increased monitoring and surveillance and a catch certification scheme.
For orange roughy, catches have been reduced by 40 per cent over the last five years and fisheries are being closed.
Ross Sea Antarctic toothfish fishing vessels must meet strict requirements on fishing and bycatch mitigation plus host two independent observers. Source:
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