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The Australian Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) fishery for Patagonian Toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides has this month gained Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, following an independent assessment against the MSC standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.  Products from this fishery may now bear the MSC ecolabel, identifying their origin from a sustainable source.  The certification covers two longline vessels and one trawl vessel.  Current catch levels have been set at 2730 tonnes annually.

The fishery operates in sub-Antarctic waters within the Australian EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) around the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Plateau. It is managed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA).  Management by AFMA incorporates CCAMLR (Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) conservation measures that  include approaches to avoid the capture of seabirds such as closed seasons, mandatory bird-scaring lines and line weighting, along with two full-time government-approved observers to report on fishing activities and to undertake research during every trip to the HIMI fishery.

Participants in this fishery must satisfy strict requirements to lessen environmental impacts, including a ban on plastic bait bands, a ban on plastic products being discarded at sea, bans on discharge of offal and foodstuffs, and the reporting within 24 hours to authorities of any lost fishing gear and other non-biodegradable materials.

Approximately 600 pairs of Black-browed Albatrosses breed on Heard Island
Photograph by Genevieve Jones

Click here for more information on the HIMI toothfish fishery certification.

For earlier news on progress with MSC certification of Southern Ocean fisheries click here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 March 2012