December 11, 2007

Oregon's pink shrimp fishery certified sustainable

Oregon's commercial pink shrimp fishery is the first in the world to be certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Oregon Trawl Commission Administrator Brad Pettinger expressed utmost excitement over the certification.

The Trawl Commission, which represents fishermen who tow nets to catch shrimp and fish, started the certification process in April 2005. The process for most products takes up to a year and a half.

MSC is based in London and is an international non-profit organisation that provides world-wide set of management and environmental standards against which any fishery can be evaluated.

The council grades the fishery according to harvest management, accountability of management and enforcement systems and minimisation of bycatch and adverse ecosystem impacts.

Independent experts evaluate fisheries.