The Provincial Government is extending its congratulations to the Canadian northern shrimp trawl fishery on receiving international certification from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This certification indicates that the industry meets environmental standards for being well-managed and sustainable in the capture of wild fish. This is the largest coldwater shrimp fishery in the world to be certified.

"Our government is extremely pleased to see the shrimp fishery receive this international certification," said the Honourable Trevor Taylor, acting Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. "We recognize the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) for its efforts in seeking this certification and congratulate the organization on a successful effort. I would also like to take this opportunity to commend our harvesters for their practices which enabled this certification, as well as the Federal Government which provides the management regime."

Retailers in Europe and the United States are increasingly concerned about the environmental sustainability of their seafood. Opportunities for growth in the sale of wild coldwater shrimp currently exist in the United States, China, the Russian Federation and emerging economies. That makes now an ideal time for the industry to receive MSC certification.

"With increasingly discerning global seafood markets, it is important for our fishing industry to take all the steps possible to continue to be competitive in the global environment," said Minister Taylor. "Our government was very pleased to provide a grant of $50,000 to ASP in their pursuit of this certification and we are glad that their efforts have paid off. This was an opportunity to help our industry in moving to the next level in providing an eco-friendly product that will be attractive to many markets.

"North Atlantic coldwater shrimp is the best-tasting shrimp in the world. Now that the Canadian northern shrimp fishery is certified as sustainable, this is another advantage that we can build on in marketing the shrimp product to the world."

In order to receive the certification, the shrimp fishery has been subject to an independent evaluation. That included the assembling of a team of experts who examined the status of the fish stocks, the impact of the fishery on the marine eco-system and the effectiveness of management systems. In order for the fishery to be certified, traceability of the product had to be established, meaning that consumers can have the assurance of knowing their seafood comes from a certified sustainable fishery.

The Canadian northern shrimp trawl fishery is the largest wetfish coldwater shrimp fishery in the world. It sees catches of approximately 170 million pounds of shrimp per year landed for processing in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was assessed off the East Coast of Canada, including the Newfoundland and Labrador inshore fishery of the northeast coast and the Scotian shelf.

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