Four years after Oregon pink shrimp (Pandalus jordani) fishery officials called Marine Stewardship Council certification a “huge achievement” that would help local fishermen maintain existing market access and gain access to new markets, the fishery voluntarily entered full assessment to seek re-certification to the MSC standard. A MSC certification lasts for five years with annual surveillance audits. The certification included improvement actions for the fishery to implement including capturing additional data in vessel logbooks and obtaining more independent research about the fishery catch and ecosystem impacts to provide more information for fishery management.
The re-assessment against the MSC standard will be conducted by an independent certification body, Intertek Moody Marine, and the assessment is expected to take about a year.
About the fishery
The fishery operates off the coast of Oregon in the western United States and approximately 60 vessels are covered under the existing MSC certification. The primary fishing method is otter trawling and by-catch reduction devices are mandatory. The annual catch landed at Oregon ports averages about 11,000 tonnes, with an average shrimp size of approximately three inches. Shrimp are sold primarily into US west coast retail and food service markets.
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