Archived News

Under the auspices of the SARPC (Syndicat des Armements Réunionnais de Palangriers Congélateurs or Reunion Freezer Longliner Ship owners’ Association) French toothfish fishers on the Kerguelen Plateau in the southern Indian Ocean were granted Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in August this year (click here).

The demersal longline fishery for Patagonian Toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides operates in the French Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on the plateau around Iles Kerguelen.  The current Total Allowable Catch (TAC) has been set at 5100 tonnes and is divided among the SARPC’s six fishing companies which operate seven longline vessels (click here).

“Fishers actively participate in a great number of scientific and exploratory studies and apply conservation measures set by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), in particular those concerning the protection of birds, the presence of on-board observers and the monitoring of by-catches.  Of note are the many efforts, which are starting to work, that have been made to reduce the mortality of Grey Petrels [Procellaria cinerea – an ACAP-listed species] – these include setting up weighted branchlines, using devices to scare birds away and compulsory night setting of lines.”

Grey Petrel photographed by Erica Sommer

For an earlier news item on the MSC certification process for this Southern Ocean fishery click here.

Four other Southern Ocean toothfish fisheries have now been certified by the MSC and one remains under assessment (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 October 2013