MSC Full Assessment Reporting Template FCR v2.0 (16th March 2015) MEC V1.1 (2nd October 2017) Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Expedited Assessment Public Comment Draft Report SFSAG North Sea haddock On behalf of Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG) Prepared by ME Certification Ltd April 2018 Authors: Dr Hugh Jones Dr Robin Cook Dr Jo Gascoigne Dr Geir Hønneland ME Certification Ltd 56 High Street, Lymington Hampshire SO41 9AH United Kingdom Tel: 01590 613007 Fax: 01590 671573 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.me-cert.com MSC Full Assessment Reporting Template FCR v2.0 (16th March 2015) MEC V1.1 (2nd October 2017) Contents GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................. 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. 6 1 AUTHORSHIP AND PEER REVIEWERS .............................................................................. 10 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERY ....................................................................................... 12 2.1 Unit(s) of Assessment (UoA) and Scope of Certification Sought ........................... 12 2.1.1 UoAs and Proposed Unit of Certifications (UoC) .......................................................... 12 2.1.2 Extension of scope of fishery certificate (expedited assessment). ............................... 12 2.1.3 Final UoC(s) .................................................................................................................. 19 2.1.4 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Catch Data ............................................................... 20 2.1.5 Scope of Assessment in Relation to Enhanced Fisheries ............................................ 22 2.1.6 Scope of Assessment in Relation to Introduced Species Based Fisheries .................. 22 2.2 Overview of the fishery ......................................................................................... 22 2.2.1 Gear and operation of the fishery.................................................................................. 23 2.2.2 Fishing area and seasons ............................................................................................. 25 2.3 Principle One: Target Species Background ........................................................... 31 2.3.1 Northern Shelf haddock ................................................................................................ 31 2.3.2 Saithe, North Sea, Rockall and West of Scotland, Skagerrak and Kattegat. ............... 34 2.3.3 North Sea plaice ............................................................................................................ 36 2.3.4 Northern hake ................................................................................................................ 38 2.3.5 North Sea whiting .......................................................................................................... 41 2.3.6 Landing obligation ......................................................................................................... 44 2.3.7 North Sea Multi Annual Management Plan ................................................................... 45 2.4 Principle Two: Ecosystem Background ................................................................. 46 2.4.1 Main retained and bycatch species in this fishery ......................................................... 46 2.4.2 Management of depleted stocks ................................................................................... 54 2.4.3 Management of discards ............................................................................................... 60 2.4.4 Elasmobranchs and other ETP species ........................................................................ 61 2.4.5 Habitats ......................................................................................................................... 67 2.4.6 Ecosystem ..................................................................................................................... 77 2.5 Principle Three: Management System Background............................................... 79 2.5.1 Jurisdiction .................................................................................................................... 79 2.5.2 Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 79 2.5.3 Legal basis and management set-up ............................................................................ 79 2.5.4 Stakeholders and consultation processes .................................................................... 81 2.5.5 Resolution of disputes ................................................................................................... 82 2.5.6 Enforcement and compliance ........................................................................................ 83 2.5.7 Review of the management system .............................................................................. 85 3 EVALUATION PROCEDURE .............................................................................................. 86 3.1 Harmonised Fishery Assessment .......................................................................... 86 3.1.1 Principle 1 ...................................................................................................................... 86 3.1.2 Principle 3 ...................................................................................................................... 87 3.2 Previous assessments .......................................................................................... 92 3.2.1 UoA 1 ............................................................................................................................ 92 3.3 Assessment Methodologies ................................................................................ 103 3140R04M | ME Certification Ltd. 1 MSC Full Assessment Reporting Template FCR v2.0 (16th March 2015) MEC V1.1 (2nd October 2017) 3.4 Evaluation Processes and Techniques ............................................................... 103 3.4.1 Site Visits and consultations ....................................................................................... 103 3.4.2 Evaluation Techniques ................................................................................................ 104 4 TRACEABILITY ............................................................................................................. 107 4.1 Eligibility Date ..................................................................................................... 107 4.2 Traceability within the Fishery ............................................................................. 107 4.3 Eligibility to Enter Further Chains of Custody ...................................................... 109 4.4 Eligibility of Inseparable or Practicably Inseparable (IPI) stock(s) to Enter Further Chains of Custody ......................................................................................................... 110 5 EVALUATION RESULTS ................................................................................................. 111 5.1 Principle Level Scores ........................................................................................ 111 5.2 Summary of PI Level Scores ............................................................................... 111 5.3 Summary of Conditions ....................................................................................... 113 5.4 Recommendations .............................................................................................. 114 5.5 Determination, Formal Conclusion and Agreement ............................................. 114 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 115 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................... 130 APPENDIX 1 SCORING AND RATIONALES ............................................................................... 131 Principle 1 scoring rationale ........................................................................................... 131 Principle 2 scoring rationale ........................................................................................... 164 Principle 3 scoring rationale ........................................................................................... 227 APPENDIX 2 CONDITIONS .................................................................................................... 257 Appendix 2.1 - Existing Conditions: ............................................................................... 257 Appendix 2.2 - New Conditions ..................................................................................... 267 Appendix 2.3 – Marine Scotland letter of support .......................................................... 284 APPENDIX 3 PEER REVIEW REPORTS ................................................................................... 286 Peer Review 1 ............................................................................................................... 286 Peer Review 2 ............................................................................................................... 300 APPENDIX 4 STAKEHOLDER SUBMISSIONS ...........................................................................