Control Union (UK) Limited. Jeong II Corporation Antarctic krill fishery MSC Inseparable or Practicably Inseparable (IPI) Announcement Control Union (UK) Limited. 56 High Street, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 9AH, United Kingdom Tel: 01590 613007 Fax: 01590 671573 Email: [email protected] Website: uk.controlunion.com QA Role Signature and date Originator: HE 01/10/2020 Reviewer: HJ 09/10/2020 Approver: TT 12/10/2020 2 MSC IPI Announcement Template 1.0, CUP version 1.2 (1st May 2020) 3398N02C 1 Marine Stewardship Council IPI announcement Table 1 – Inseparable or practicably inseparable (IPI) catches Description of the stocks identified as Inseparable or Practicably Inseparable (IPI) and confirmation they are 1 within scope of IPI The team believe the UoA meets the IPI requirements set out in FCP 7.5.8: 7.5.8.1 a. The non-target catch is practicably indistinguishable during normal fishing operations (i.e. the catch is from a stock of the same species or a closely related species) Not applicable as the IPI species are fish larvae. 7.5.8.1 b. When distinguishable, it is not commercially feasible to separate due to the practical operation of the fishery that would require significant modification to existing harvesting and processing methods Both fishing vessels of the UoA operate in the same way, using a stern trawl and a continuous fishing system, which uses a pump connecting the vessel to the codend rather than hauling the net aboard. The continuous pump fishing method transfers the catch to a conveyor system on the vessels where it is moved directly into the hold. All species in the catch are retained, and all are used in the final product (frozen whole round krill and krill meal). Therefore, the ability to separate these out from the krill during fishing operations is not practicable and near complete gear modification would be required to separate the IPI species. 7.5.8.1 c. The total combined proportion of catches from the IPI stocks do not exceed 15% by weight of the total combined catches of target and IPI stock(s) for the UoA. The UoA activities are under 100% observer coverage. The Scientific Observers Manual issued by CCAMLR states that the key tasks of the observers include: (ii) sampling of catches to determine biological characteristics, (iii) recording biological data by species caught, (iv) recording bycatch, their quantity and biological data, (vi) recording the procedure by which declared catch weight is measured and collecting data relating to the conversion factor between green weight and final product in the event that catch is recorded on the basis of weight of processed product. The analysis of Observer reports for this fishery between 2016 and 2019 showed that the combined catch of all non-target species amounts to approximated 0.009% of the catch by weight. As such, the UoA is far from exceeding the 15% weight limit set in 7.5.8.1c. 7.5.8.1 d. The IPI stocks are not endangered, threatened or protected (ETP) species. Based on the Observer data, ocellated icefish (Chionodraco rastrospinus), mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari), and salps (Salpidae) make up the majority of the IPI bycatch (see table below). None of the species in the table are ETP. Species kg % of Total MSC Designation Euphausia superba Krill - target 53,060,661.800 99.99% Target Chionodraco rastrospinosus Ocellated icefish 1,099.675 0.002% Secondary Champsocephalus gunnari Mackerel icefish 1,008.388 0.002% Primary Salpidae Salps 969.150 0.002% Secondary Chaenodraco wilsoni Spiny icefish 199.982 0.000% Secondary Pseudochaenichthys South Georgia icefish 194.160 0.000% Secondary georgianus 3 MSC IPI Announcement Template 1.0, CUP version 1.2 (1st May 2020) 3398N02C Chaenocephalus aceratus Blackfin icefish 159.802 0.000% Secondary Cryodraco antarcticus Long-fingered icefish 121.388 0.000% Secondary Notothenia gibberifrons Humped rockcod 102.547 0.000% Secondary Pleuragramma antarcticum Antarctic silverfish 81.315 0.000% Secondary Electrona carlsbergi Electron subantarctic lanternfish 78.858 0.000% Secondary Semele radiata bivalve 66.630 0.000% Secondary Gymnoscopelus nicholsi Nichol’s lanternfish 65.631 0.000% Secondary Pagetopsis macropterus 50.494 0.000% Secondary Notolepis coatsi Antarctic jonasfish 37.935 0.000% Secondary Neopagetopsis ionah Crocodile icefish 29.892 0.000% Secondary Geophagus spp 29.204 0.000% Secondary Rhopilema spp Jellyfish spp 19.50 0.000% Secondary Nototheniops larseni Painted rockcod 16.434 0.000% Secondary Notothenia coriiceps Black rockcod 10.155 0.000% Secondary Parachaenichthys charcoti Antarctic dragonfish sp 8.040 0.000% Secondary Cyclopteridae Lumpsucker spp 7.90 0.000% Secondary Onykia ingens Greater hooked squid 7.560 0.000% Secondary Psychroteuthis glacialis Glacial squid 6.951 0.000% Secondary Notothenia rossii Marbles rockcod 5.407 0.000% Secondary Trematomus eulepidotus Blunt scalyhead 4.877 0.000% Secondary Lophius americanus American anglerfish 4.340 0.000% Secondary Psilodraco breviceps Antarctic dragonfish sp 3.050 0.000% Secondary Notothenia neglecta Yellowbelly rockcod 2.10 0.000% Secondary Trematomus newnesi Notothenid sp 1.867 0.000% Secondary Onykia knipovitchi Cephalopod sp 1.580 0.000% Secondary Icichthys australis Southern driftfish 1.290 0.000% Secondary Dissostichus mawsoni Antarctic toothfish 0.970 0.000% Secondary Nototheniops nudifrons Notothenid sp 0.910 0.000% Secondary Dunaliella tertiolecta Algae 0.805 0.000% Secondary Trematomus lepidorhinus Slender scalyhead 0.785 0.000% Secondary Pagetopsis maculatus Channichthid sp 0.63 0.000% Secondary Magnisudis prionosa Southern barracudina 0.52 0.000% Secondary Gasterosteus aculeatus Three-spined stickleback 0.24 0.000% Secondary 4 MSC IPI Announcement Template 1.0, CUP version 1.2 (1st May 2020) 3398N02C Paraliparis spp Snailfish sp 0.225 0.000% Secondary Paradiplospinus antarcticus Antarctic escolar 0.2 0.000% Secondary Loligo gahi Cuttlefish 0.165 0.000% Secondary Dacodraco hunteri Crocodile icefish sp 0.14 0.000% Secondary Nototheniidae Notothenid sp 0.05 0.000% Secondary Natantia Decapod sp 0.02 0.000% Secondary Alopias superciliosus Bigeye thresher – dubious identification 0.005 0.000% Secondary (far outside the geographical range, to be checked at the site visit) Octopodidae Octopus 0.005 0.000% Secondary Artedidraco mirus Perciform sp 0.001 0.000% Secondary 7.5.8.1 e. The IPI stocks are not certified separately Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is the only species under assessment in the list above. This stock is currently certified in two other fisheries. None of the IPI species are certified separately. Considering the information presented above, the team believes that the Jeong II Corporation krill fisheries meets the requirements for FCP v2.1 7.5.8.1 b-e. 2a Rationale to indicate fish and fish products from IPI stocks may enter further chains of custody Regarding Annex PA 1.2.1 CU UK have reviewed the information available on the IPI stocks (observer reports) and do not propose any modification of the default assessment tree. All IPI catches will be scored under primary and secondary species (PA1.2.2a) and separately will assess the impact of all fishing activity on the IPI stocks (PA1.2.2.b and PA1.4.2). Rationale to indicate fish and fish products from IPI stocks may enter further chains of custody with an 2b exemption to additional assessment requirements In addition to meeting the requirements of MSC FCP v2.1 Clause 7.5.8.1, the team believes the fishery also meets Clause 7.5.11.b. A. The catch proportion of IPI stocks calculated in 7.5.8.1.c is less than or equal to 2% of the total catch of IPI stock(s) by the UoA does not create a significant impact on the IPI stock(s) as a whole. The table above, presenting observer data (100% observer coverage) from 2016-2019 indicates that Antarctic krill make up 99.99% of the catch for the UoA. This data demonstrates the selectivity of the gear and fishing practices. The most common non target species are Ocellated icefish (Chionodraco rastrospinosus), Mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari – assessed as a primary species), and salps (salpidae). Roughly 1 tonne of each of the aforementioned species was caught over the course of three years (compared to ~53 000 t of krill over the same period). This is equivalent to approximately 1.9g of each of the aforementioned species per tonne of krill caught in this fishery between 2016 and 2019. If the removal of such quantities of a keystone species (krill) is considered acceptable by the management authority, it is unlikely that the quantities of bycatch caught in this fishery would cause unacceptable impacts to the respective bycatch stocks. CU UK also notes that natural mortality on fish larvae is typically high. Fuiman & Werner (2002) state the following: for marine species, only 180 individuals are expected to survive the larval stage (>99.9% mortality) from an initial cohort of one million larvae under conditions of average mortality rates and larval stage durations (36 days). The larval phase for the icefish species incidentally caught in this fishery is long (Kock & Hellermann, 1991) – a prolonged high- risk life phase likely means that natural mortality is even higher at this stage for these species. Removal of minor quantities from the UoA is highly likely to be negligible compared to the natural mortality at this life stage. 5 MSC IPI Announcement Template 1.0, CUP version 1.2 (1st May 2020) 3398N02C CU UK believes that the UoAs activity does not create a significant impact on the IPI stock(s) as a whole, given their low relative proportion in the catch. B. The CAB shall note that significant impact will be assessed on basis of the status of the IPI stock, and the risk that the IPI catch poses to the health of the IPI stock.