Certifier : 
Global Trust Certification Ltd.
Certified status : 
Withdrawn
Certified since : 
11 Jan 2018
Certificate expires : 
10 Jul 2023

Overview

Fisheries are composed of one or more parts, each of which is entitled to receive an MSC certificate. These parts or “units” are defined by their target stock(s), fishing gear type(s) and if relevant vessel type(s), and the fishing fleets or groups of vessels.

When the term “Unit of Certification” is used for fishing units that are in assessment, it refers to the “Unit of Assessment” or “Unit of potential certification”. Expand a status below to view the parts that form this fishery. To check the detailed scope, download the latest certificate or open the Assessments page to get the latest report. Find out more by visiting our page on Fisheries

Units of Certification & Certificate Information

  • No longer in the program
    MSC UoC Number Species Gear Type Ocean Area Status (Units of Certification) Certificate Code
    UoC-1478 Blue whiting(=Poutassou) (Micromesistius poutassou) Trawls - Bottom trawls 27 (Atlantic, Northeast) Withdrawn MSC-F-31346 (F-DNV-251547)
    UoC-1479 Blue whiting(=Poutassou) (Micromesistius poutassou) Trawls - Midwater trawls: Pelagic trawl & Purse seine. 27 (Atlantic, Northeast) Withdrawn MSC-F-31346 (F-DNV-251547)

View glossary of terms

Catch by Species

Species Reported Catch Year Metric Tonnes
Blue whiting(=Poutassou) (Micromesistius poutassou) 2019 270,870

Information is provided by an independent Conformity Assessment Body as live weight (the weight of species at the time of catch, before processing) and where a fishing season covers multiple years, the end year is given as the reported catch year. Additional information is available in the latest report, see the assessments page.

Eligibility, client groups and vessel lists

A fishery may choose to define the members of the fishery certificate. These members can be vessels or other client group members (e.g. companies that own vessels and/or companies that are named as eligible to handle certified product covered within the fishery certificate scope). Please refer to the fishery certificate statement on additional product specific eligibility criteria (e.g. product eligibility limitations, eligibility date, exclusive points of landing and the point where Chain of Custody certificate is required). Please consult the fishery Public Certification Report for product eligibility rationale.

Documents Published on Files
List of client group members 15 Jul 2019 1 files

About this Fishery

Blue whiting is a member of the cod family common in the northeast Atlantic. 19 Icelandic vessels are licensed to target blue whiting and catches are mainly processed on board. 

The vessels in the blue whiting fleet are part of the Iceland Sustainable Fisheries (ISF) group. The purpose of ISF is to obtain certifications for Icelandic fisheries. The group was founded in 2012 and a number of ISF operations have already been MSC certified.

Market Information

The main markets for Iceland's blue whiting are Norway, Germany, Faroe Islands and France. The main product is fishmeal.