Fish News EU
Iceland Sustainable Fisheries (ISF) has entered its golden redfish fishery and saithe fishery into MSC assessment. It is the first redfish fishery in the MSC programme and the assessment will be carried out by independent certifier Vottunarstofan Tún.
Golden redfish (Sebastes marinus) is fished year round but especially in the late winter and early spring. The main fishing grounds are at the edge of the continental shelf at 200-400 metres depth, from southeast to northwest of Iceland. (FAO 27, mainly ICES Va, Iceland’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ)). Golden redfish is primarily processed for export especially in frozen fillets, but also exported fresh chilled. The main markets for golden redfish are Germany, Japan, The Netherlands and China.
The saithe (Pollachius virens) fishery takes place year round with its catch peak during spring and autumn. Saithe, called Ufsi in Iceland, is mostly caught to the south and west of Iceland (FAO 27, ICES Va, Iceland EEZ) and is primarily processed for export, especially in frozen fillets. Some is also exported salted, dried and fresh and the main markets are Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Nigeria.