Additional Canadian lobster fisheries gain MSC certification

First published in Landings, July, 2015.

The Bay of Fundy, Scotian Shelf and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence lobster trap fishery received certification by the Marine Stewardship Council in May. Following an independent assessment conducted by SAI Global, lobsters from the region are now eligible to bear the blue MSC eco-label, which demonstrates they come from a well-managed, environmentally sustainable source.The lobster fishery joins 259 other MSC-certified fisheries across the globe. Approximately 67% of all Canadian fisheries now operate with the MSC certification.

In 2014, the landed value of all lobster fisheries in Canada was $853 million (Canadian), the highest of any fishery in the country. Of that, $671 million, or 79%, was generated by harvesters in the Bay of Fundy, Scotian Shelf and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence lobster trap fishery. The main commercial market for the lobster is the United States, followed by Europe—primarily Belgium, France and the United Kingdom—and Asia, primarily China, Japan and South Korea. Lobster from Canada is sold in significant quantities both in live and processed (frozen lobster tails, whole frozen and lobster meat) formats to all these markets.

The Prince Edward Island lobster fishery was certified as sustainable by the MSC in November, 2014. That lobster fishery generates more than $200 million (Canadian) each year; P.E.I. lobstermen landed more than 28 million pounds of lobster in 2014, an all-time high.