Vottunarstofan Tún ehf. Sustainable Fisheries Scheme Marine Stewardship Council Fisheries Assessment Faroe Islands Queen Scallop Fishery Final Report Client: O.C. Joensen Page | 1 Faroe Islands Queen Scallop Fishery – Final Report 6 August 2013 Assessment Team Members: Gudrun G. Thorarinsdottir Ph.D. Gunnar Á. Gunnarsson Ph.D. Kjartan Hoydal Cand.Scient. Louise le Roux M.Sc., Assessment Coordinator, Team Leader Assessment Secretaries: Gunnar Á. Gunnarsson Ph.D. Louise le Roux M.Sc. Certification Body: Client: Vottunarstofan Tún ehf. O.C. Joensen Þarabakki 3 P.O. Box 40 IS-109 Reykjavík FO-450 Oyri Iceland Faroe Islands Tel.: +354 511 1330 Tel: +298 585 825 E-mail: tun@tun.is E-mail: jm@thor.fo This is a Final Report on the MSC assessment of the Faroe Islands Queen Scallop fishery. An objection may be lodged with the MSC´s Independent Adjudicator in conformity with the MSC Objections Procedure found in Annex CD of MSC´s Certification Requirements during a period of 15 working days from the date of the posting of this report and the determination on the MSC website. Page | 2 Faroe Islands Queen Scallop Fishery – Final Report Table of Contents Glossary of Terms Used in the Report ........................................................................................... 6 1. Executive summary ............................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Scope of the Assessment ........................................................................................................ 8 1.2 Assessment Team ................................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Outline of the Assessment ...................................................................................................... 8 1.4 The Main Strengths and Weaknesses of the Assessed Fishery .............................................. 9 1.5 Overall Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 9 1.6 Determination, Conditions and Recommendations ............................................................. 10 2. Authorship and Peer Reviewers .......................................................................................... 10 2.1 Assessment Team Members ................................................................................................. 10 2.2 Peer Reviewers...................................................................................................................... 11 3. Description of the fishery .................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Unit of Certification and Scope of Certification Sought ........................................................ 13 3.2 Overview of the Fishery ........................................................................................................ 13 3.3 Principle One: Target Species Background ........................................................................... 14 3.3.1 Queen Scallop Biology ................................................................................................... 14 3.3.2 Status of the Stock and Stock Assessment .................................................................... 17 3.3.3 Harvest Control Strategy ............................................................................................... 18 3.3.4 History of Fishing and Management ............................................................................. 19 3.4 Principle Two: Ecosystem Background ................................................................................. 26 3.4.1 Ecosystem and Habitat ................................................................................................. 26 3.4.2 Retained Species and Bycatch....................................................................................... 30 3.4.3 Endangered, Threatened or Protected (ETP) Species ................................................... 30 3.5 Principle Three: Management System Background .............................................................. 31 3.5.1 Area of Operation and Jurisdiction ............................................................................... 31 3.5.2 Interest Groups ............................................................................................................. 32 3.5.3 Fisheries Management and Administration .................................................................. 32 3.5.4 Monitoring, Control and Surveillance ........................................................................... 36 3.5.5 Fishery Regulation and Planning ................................................................................... 36 4. Evaluation Procedure .......................................................................................................... 39 4.1 Harmonised Fishery Assessment .......................................................................................... 39 4.2 Previous Assessments ........................................................................................................... 39 4.3 Assessment Methodologies .................................................................................................. 41 4.4 Evaluation Processes and Techniques .................................................................................. 42 4.4.1 Site Visits ....................................................................................................................... 42 Page | 3 Faroe Islands Queen Scallop Fishery – Final Report 4.4.2 Consultations ................................................................................................................ 42 4.4.3 Evaluation Techniques .................................................................................................. 44 5. Traceability ........................................................................................................................ 46 5.1 Eligibility Date ....................................................................................................................... 46 5.2 Traceability within the Fishery .............................................................................................. 46 5.3 Eligibility to Enter Further Chains of Custody ....................................................................... 46 6. Evaluation Results .............................................................................................................. 48 6.1 Principle Level Scores ............................................................................................................ 48 6.2 Summary of Scores ............................................................................................................... 48 6.3 Conditions and/or Recommendations .................................................................................. 49 6.3.1 Conditions ..................................................................................................................... 49 6.3.2 Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 49 6.4 Determination, Formal Conclusion and Agreement ............................................................. 49 6.5 Changes in the Fishery Prior to and Since Pre-Assessment .................................................. 49 7. References ......................................................................................................................... 50 7.1 Websites Accessed for Information ...................................................................................... 54 7.1.1 Faroese Fisheries Websites ........................................................................................... 54 7.1.2 Other Websites ............................................................................................................. 54 Appendix 1: Performance Indicator Scores and Rationales ......................................................... 55 Principle 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 55 Principle 2 ......................................................................................................................................... 68 Principle 3 ......................................................................................................................................... 99 Appendix 1.2: Risk Based Framework (RBF) Outputs ................................................................ 118 Hazard Identification ....................................................................................................................... 118 Appendix 1.2.1: Scale Intensity Consequence Analysis (SICA) ....................................................... 119 Appendix 1.2.2: Productivity-Susceptibility Analysis (PSA) ............................................................ 120 Appendix 1.3: Conditions ........................................................................................................ 122 Appendix 1.3.1 Client Action Plan ................................................................................................... 127 Appendix 2: Peer Review Reports ............................................................................................ 134 Peer Reviewer 1 .............................................................................................................................