Following a request from Clearwater to advance the timing of the annual audit of the fishery, today the conformity assessment body Lloyd’s Register announced its decision to undertake its annual surveillance audit of the Eastern Canadian offshore lobster fishery in compliance with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in April.
In the interest of transparency, and to acknowledge stakeholder concerns, Clearwater welcomes the full review of the offshore lobster fishery. All stakeholders have an opportunity to participate in the audit process. The site visit for the audit will take place the week of April 8th 2019—earlier than the regularly scheduled annual review, which is typically done in June.
“The Canadian offshore lobster fishery was the first on the Eastern seaboard to be certified under the MSC standard and continues to be a model for sustainable fisheries management,” said Christine Penney, Vice President of Sustainability and Public Affairs at Clearwater. “We operate in a responsible and sustainable manner, and anticipate the MSC audit process will reaffirm that the fishery continues to meet the very rigorous MSC standard.”
The MSC standard relies on independent review by third-party scientific experts. It requires full vetting of all the available information. Clearwater has been an engaged participant in this program for over 10 years, providing detailed information for expert review and consideration during this annual process.
