Marine Stewardship Council Fishery Announcement

Name of Fishery Maruto Suisan rope grown Pacific oyster, Okayama fishery

Assessment number Initial assessment

Reduced re- N assessment (Y/N)

Statement that the The CAB confirms that the fishery entering full assessment meets the scope fishery is within scope requirements (FCR 7.4) for MSC fishery assessments [FCR 7.8.3.1]. The CAB further confirms the following: • The fishery is within scope of the MSC standard, i.e. it does not operate under a controversial unilateral exemption to an international agreement, use destructive fishing practices, target amphibians, birds, reptiles or mammals and is not overwhelmed by dispute; • The CAB has reviewed available assessment reports and other information. A pre-assessment was conducted for this fishery by CU Pesca in 2018. • The fishery has not failed an assessment within the last two years; • The certificate is not open to certificate sharing; • IPI stocks are not caught; • The fishery is enhanced; • The fishery does not overlap with other fisheries in the MSC programme; • The fishery is not based on an introduced species; and • The fishery does not include an entity that has been successfully prosecuted for violations against forced labour laws. The fishery is defined as enhanced ‘catch and grow’ bivalve fishery, using habitat modification, without translocation (FCR2.01 – Figure GSB 5). The fishery will be evaluated under the Enhanced Bivalve assessment tree (Annex SB of FCR 2.01)

Proposed Unit of Assessment:

Species and Crassostrea gigas Stock

Geographical Setouchi Inland Sea, Okayama Prefecture range

Method of Oyster seed collection on hanging scallop shells and capture oyster rope grown production and harvesting

Control Union Pesca Ltd

56 High Street, Lymington • Hampshire SO41 9AH • United Kingdom • +44 015 90613007 • [email protected] • cupesca.controlunion.com Registered in England and Wales No: 06509910 • VAT number: 166249195

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Client group Members of the Fishery Cooperative Okucho (Okayama Prefecture)

Other eligible none fishers

Certificate sharing There are no other eligible fishers as the fishery is not open to certificate sharing. statement

Estimated Length of Pending a successful outcome of the evaluation, the predicted date by which the Full Assessment & assessment is expected to be completed is November 2019. Timeline An indicative timetable for the assessment is provided below along with an indication as to the key stakeholder engagement periods during the assessment.

Stakeholder Consultation Assessment stage Date Period

All stakeholders are invited to Fishery submit comments on the fishery 29th January 2019 announcement throughout the assessment process

All stakeholders are invited to Site visit 1st-2nd March 2019 the team’s site visit.

Peer Reviewer Stakeholders will have a ten (10) 15th April 2019 Announcement day period to comment

Public Comment Stakeholders will have a thirty Draft Report (PCDR) 1st September 2019 (30) day period to comment published

Stakeholders will have a fifteen Final Report (FR) & (15) working day period to lodge Draft Determination 14th October 2019 an objection to Final Report and Published Draft Determination

Public Certification Report (PCR) 4th November 2019 published

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Name of proposed Name Cora Seip Team Leader Areas of It is proposed that Cora Seip will act as team leader with responsibility overall responsibility for the assessment.

Competency Cora meets the Fishery Team Leader criteria in Table PC1. She criteria (Annex PC) has a Master’s degree in Biology from Leiden University, and has passed the online fishery team leader training.

Previously, she worked for the Dutch Fish Product Board from 2007-2013 as Policy Officer, 'Nature and Spatial Planning'. Her work focused mainly on Natura 2000 procedures and shrimp and flatfish fisheries, and included the Marine Framework Directive. She was also shellfish Policy Officer, and worked closely with the Dutch shellfish industry (mainly mussels, but also oysters, Ensis, and cockles).

From 2013-2017 Cora has worked as an expert independent consultant to a broad cross-section of fishing organisations. Notable achievements include working on assessment of Dutch fisheries (both generic and specific) and their impacts, as well as working as an advisor with regards to spatial planning, and nature conservation laws.

Cora also has > 5 years’ experience in research into the management of fisheries impacts on aquatic ecosystems meeting the criteria for ‘Fishing impacts on aquatic ecosystems’ in table PC3.3 through her work summarised above and will provide input into Principle 2.

Conflict of interest There are no conflicts of interest in relation to the fishery in relation to this under assessment. fishery

CV Available upon request

Name(s) of proposed Name Yoko Tamura assessors Areas of It is proposed that Yoko would have primary responsibility for responsibility Principle 2 and 3.

Competency Yoko Tamura is an independent consultant who worked criteria (annex PC) recently with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership to promote Fishery Improvement Projects and buyer engagement in Japan. With a MA in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington and a BSc. in Marine Resource Management from

Control Union Pesca Ltd

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the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, she has worked on coastal resources management, fisheries, and sustainable development and has significant current knowledge of the country, language and local fishery context. Previously, she was a technical expert for Japan International Cooperation Agency and a project coordinator at Conservation International Japan. She also contributed to the production of a seafood pocket guide in Japan to raise awareness of seafood sustainability issues.

Yoko’s previous MSC experience includes the MSC assessment of the Kyoto Danish Seine Fishery Federation flathead flounder fishery and, more recently, working with MEC on a number of MSC pre-assessments in Japan.

It is proposed that Yoko will bring her extensive experience of the Japanese fisheries sector to the process as Local Co- Ordinator, with primary responsibility for the assessment of Principle 2 and 3. Yoko meets the criteria for ‘Fishing impacts on aquatic ecosystems’ (Table PC 3. 3), ‘Fishery management and operations’ (Table PC 3. 4) and ‘Current knowledge of the country, language and local fishery context’ (Table PC3. 5) through her list of work summarised above.

Conflict of interest There are no conflicts of interest in relation to the fishery in relation to this under assessment. fishery

CV Available upon request

Assessment tree to be The use of the RBF is not expected based on the following rationale: used The method for the collection of seed in this fishery consists of spat collectors (suspended scallop shells the water column). Seed collected this way is only relocated a small distance, within the same water body/ecosystem (Setouchi Inland Sea, Okayama Prefecture). The ‘moved’ oysters are of the same genetic stock and are all within the UoC. Based on this, the team have decided that oyster translocations are not relevant to this fishery. The team’s initial evaluation of the parent stock is that, as the UoC under assessment involves the use of spat collectors and the grow-out of the collected oyster spat, the net effect is that the rope growing-activities will increase the local oyster stock biomass. In accordance with the Fisheries Certification Requirements SB2.1.4 – ‘If an enhanced CAG bivalve fishery does not involve translocations, and there is no evidence that it negatively impacts the parent stock, teams may choose not to score Principle 1’, Principle 1 does not need to be scored and consequently, RBF will not be used for PI 1.1.1.

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Since this fishery is a catch-and-grow fishery based solely on spat collection (as opposed to dredging), Primary and Secondary species components do not have to be scored (SB 3.1.1.), therefore RBF is not applicable to PI 2.1.1 and 2.2.1 There is sufficient information about the interaction of the fishery with ETP species to suggest that the RBF is not needed to score 2.3.1. Sufficient information is available to assess the impact of this fishery on habitat and ecosystem. E.g. benthic monitoring data are available, giving an overview of the habitats encountered by the UoC, and the associated species for these sites. Furthermore, studies have been conducted to assess primary production, and nitrogen flux, in the oyster farms. The RBF is therefore also not needed for PI 2.4.1 and 2.5.1

Site visit The site visit is scheduled to take place on 1st and 2nd of March 2019. The location will be in Okayama, Japan. Further details can be given upon request.

Control Union Pesca welcomes anyone who would like to participate. It is proposed that Cora Seip and Yoko Tamura will both attend the site visit.

A key purpose of the site visit is to collect information and to speak to stakeholders with an interest in the fishery. We rely heavily on participation of a broad range of stakeholders with a balance of knowledge of the fishery. We encourage any stakeholders with experience or knowledge of the fishery to participate in the meetings.

CU Pesca would like to welcome anyone who would like to participate in the site visit. All interested stakeholders are encouraged to contact Cora Seip ([email protected]) at CU Pesca by email, telephone or post at the below number and address:

Control Union Pesca Ltd 56 High Street, Lymington, SO41 9AH United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1590 613007 Fax: +44 (0)1590 671573

Comments must be made using the Template for Stakeholder Input into MSC-Assessments. Should any stakeholder wish to meet the team in person, this can be arranged. Remote meetings can also be arranged via telephone conferencing or Skype, or written submissions made to the above-mentioned email addresses.

Please note that comments should be factual and should be supported by data or other evidence. Comments may remain unattributed. Furthermore, information that cannot be shared with any other stakeholder will not be referenced in the assessment and cannot be used in determining the outcome

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of the fishery’s assessment nor used as a basis for an objection. Information can be kept confidential if it is restricted to financial transactions about certification, the financial affairs of individual companies or information that may lead to this information being known, or information that is the subject of relevant national privacy or data protection legislation in the assessed fishery’s country.

Submitted by: Charlotte Gwyther

Date: 29th January 2019

Deadline for stakeholder comment: 28th February at 17:00 GMT

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