WWF-New Zealand is working with our colleagues in Australia and the Pacific to support healthy and well-managed fisheries in our region. The project, launched in 2003, is called Consumer Choices for Sustainable Seafood.
A vital part of the project is supporting our global involvement in the Marine Stewardship Council – an independent international organisation which assesses fisheries and certifies them as sustainable if they meet robust criteria. Part of our role is to prepare independent technical submissions about key conservation concerns and the best practice measures that should be adopted. We provide the Council with technical advice on stock management and the effectiveness of a fishery’s efforts to reduce its environmental impacts.
New Zealand’s hoki fishery was one of the first to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as a sustainable wild fishery. It was first certified in 2001, and re-certified in October 2007. WWF-New Zealand objected to its recertification because of the impacts on the marine ecosystem and wildlife. We continue to have major concerns about the New Zealand hoki fishery but through our commitment to MSC we will keep working with the fishery to make sure it meets the required environmental standards and adopts best practice at all times.
The council’s brand has helped New Zealand hoki in overseas markets where consumers demand sustainable seafood. For example, hoki is now sold by America’s huge Walmart retail chain, which has committed to only selling wild fish certified as sustainably caught.
As yet, no other New Zealand fisheries have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. However five other New Zealand fisheries currently undergoing certification assessments including the Hake Trawl, Ling Trawl and Longline, Southern Blue Whiting Trawl, Albacore Tuna Troll and the Southern Scallop Dredge fisheries as well as a number of Antarctic fisheries. WWF-New Zealand actively engages in these assessments as a key stakeholder to inform the assessment process and to ensure an ecosystem-based management approach is implemented.
As yet, no New Zealand retailer has come forward and pledged to source only sustainably caught fish products.
What we are doing
WWF-New Zealand’s goal is to ensure that the Marine Stewardship Council certification of fisheries is robust, highly regarded and well supported in the marketplace.
To help achieve this we:
* Engage with the hoki fishery to ensure it meets the required environmental standards and adopts new best practices as they arise so that it will be re-certified.
* Support other potential fisheries in our region which could pursue Marine Stewardship Council certification and actively engage in the assessment process.
* Prepare independent technical submissions for fisheries in the Oceania region that intend to apply for Marine Stewardship Council accreditation and participate in the annual audit process for certified fisheries.
*Actively engage with the wider WWF network to support the improvement of processes in the MSC overall and ensure ecosystem-based management approaches are implemented.
Further reading
A guide to environmental management tools for New Zealand fisheries was published in 2003 by WWF-New Zealand. Sustainable Fisheries: The Future of your Business was prepared as a collaborative effort between the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council, Te Ohu Kai Moana – the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission, and WWF-New Zealand.
The guide aims to help the New Zealand fishing industry identify and better manage the interactions between fisheries and the marine environment. It includes an environmental assessment checklist.
A vital part of the project is supporting our global involvement in the Marine Stewardship Council – an independent international organisation which assesses fisheries and certifies them as sustainable if they meet robust criteria. Part of our role is to prepare independent technical submissions about key conservation concerns and the best practice measures that should be adopted. We provide the Council with technical advice on stock management and the effectiveness of a fishery’s efforts to reduce its environmental impacts.
New Zealand’s hoki fishery was one of the first to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as a sustainable wild fishery. It was first certified in 2001, and re-certified in October 2007. WWF-New Zealand objected to its recertification because of the impacts on the marine ecosystem and wildlife. We continue to have major concerns about the New Zealand hoki fishery but through our commitment to MSC we will keep working with the fishery to make sure it meets the required environmental standards and adopts best practice at all times.
The council’s brand has helped New Zealand hoki in overseas markets where consumers demand sustainable seafood. For example, hoki is now sold by America’s huge Walmart retail chain, which has committed to only selling wild fish certified as sustainably caught.
As yet, no other New Zealand fisheries have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. However five other New Zealand fisheries currently undergoing certification assessments including the Hake Trawl, Ling Trawl and Longline, Southern Blue Whiting Trawl, Albacore Tuna Troll and the Southern Scallop Dredge fisheries as well as a number of Antarctic fisheries. WWF-New Zealand actively engages in these assessments as a key stakeholder to inform the assessment process and to ensure an ecosystem-based management approach is implemented.
As yet, no New Zealand retailer has come forward and pledged to source only sustainably caught fish products.
What we are doing
WWF-New Zealand’s goal is to ensure that the Marine Stewardship Council certification of fisheries is robust, highly regarded and well supported in the marketplace.
To help achieve this we:
* Engage with the hoki fishery to ensure it meets the required environmental standards and adopts new best practices as they arise so that it will be re-certified.
* Support other potential fisheries in our region which could pursue Marine Stewardship Council certification and actively engage in the assessment process.
* Prepare independent technical submissions for fisheries in the Oceania region that intend to apply for Marine Stewardship Council accreditation and participate in the annual audit process for certified fisheries.
*Actively engage with the wider WWF network to support the improvement of processes in the MSC overall and ensure ecosystem-based management approaches are implemented.
Further reading
A guide to environmental management tools for New Zealand fisheries was published in 2003 by WWF-New Zealand. Sustainable Fisheries: The Future of your Business was prepared as a collaborative effort between the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council, Te Ohu Kai Moana – the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission, and WWF-New Zealand.
The guide aims to help the New Zealand fishing industry identify and better manage the interactions between fisheries and the marine environment. It includes an environmental assessment checklist.