The Irish Sea herring industry received a major boost on Thursday 2 October when South Down MP Margaret Ritchie presented a certificate from the Marine Stewardship Council for Irish Sea herring sector recognizing it as a sustainable and well managed fishery.
The presentation took place on board the 52-metre Havilah, one of Northern Ireland’s main herring vessels, owned by the Orr family from Kilkeel, at the Eisenhower Pier in Bangor. The Havilah skipper Andrew Orr and Ardglass pelagic processor Comgal Milligan of C&O Milligan were in attendance with DARD fisheries officials and received the certificate.
Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) has been fished in the Irish Sea since the Middle Ages. The Northern Ireland Pelagic Sustainable Group targets this species using only three pelagic trawlers all based in Northern Ireland and with fishing taking place mainly during the hours of darkness. These boats, Voyager, Stephanie M and Havilah, are all over 49 metres long and equipped with state of the art technology allowing the fishery to be very precise with species it catches. This means the fishery has little or no bycatch, thanks to the use of sonar, net and catch monitors, and has no contact with the seabed.
NIPSG represents the pelagic members of the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation (ANIFPO) and the Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation (NIFPO), as well as pelagic fish processors in Northern Ireland, namely C&O Milligan, S&P Milligan and Kilkeel Kippering Company.
Alan McCulla OBE, Chief Executive Officer for ANIFPO, who also acts as Secretary to the NIPSG said: “We are delighted to have gained this certification, which helps secure existing markets for Irish Sea herring and has the potential to create new opportunities. Indeed this good news should provide a boost to all our fishermen in the Irish Sea, who have made tremendous sacrifices in terms of achieving sustainable fisheries. We are indebted to all those involved with this process, including the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland who provided funding through the European Fisheries Fund.”
[caption id="attachment_52276" align="alignleft" width="370"]
The Irish Sea herring fishery has been awarded accreditation from the Marine Stewardship Council.[/caption]
Mr Milligan speaking to Down News said: “We are delighted with the award. It has taken a lot of work over a couple of years but at last we have achieved this valuable certification that will make marketing our sustainable herring and mackerel products more easy and profitable. We would certainly like to see now a gradual increase in the quota from the EU fro the Irish Sea herring fishery.”
Mr Orr added: “The current Havilah, which is the sixth vessel of that name in our family over three generations, was recently acquired from Norway. She can remain at sea for twenty days fuelled up and fishes the Norwegian and North Sea sectors as well as the Irish Sea, Atlantic and West Coast of Scotland fisheries. We too are very pleased with the certification and it demonstrates that the herring industry here is quite well integrated and in much better health now.”
South Down MP Margaret Ritchie speaking at the presentation in the luxurious leather-seated galley aboard the Havilah, that she was privileged to work with the local onshore and offshore fishing industry in Kilkeel and Ardglass over the past few years as they made great leaps in working towards MSC accreditation.
She explained that the vessel’s name ‘Havilah’ derived from Genesis in the bible meant ‘a place of plenty’, and added: “From early on in the accreditation process it was clear that it could only be achieved by the local industry taking control of the process and driving it forward. The award of the Marine Stewardship Council’s Certificate of Conformity for Irish Sea Herring is not only good news for Northern Ireland’s economically important pelagic fishing industry, but it also represents good news for the entire local fishing industry as it promotes the sustainable nature of fisheries in the Irish Sea.
“Local producers have collaborated with Alan Culla of the Pelagic Sustainable Group who helpe dpresent the cas eto the Fisheries MInister, but she indicated that the certification was a matter for the industry to achieve.
“We not only recognise the important milestone that MSC accreditation of Irish Sea herring represents for the local industry, but we also acknowledge the latest stage in the evolution of the local fishing industry on board one of the most recent additions to the fleet, the Havilah. Congratulations are due to the Orr family of Kilkeel.
“Similar investments by the pelagic industry both at sea and onshore are in the pipeline and again this represents a confidence in the future of the industry, which comes in the face of some significant challenges, most notably the EU’s landing obligation or a discards ban. For the pelagic industry this ban takes effect from 1 January 2015, but one aspect of the award of MSC accreditation to the Irish Sea herring fishery is recognition that discards are minimal or indeed non-existent in this fishery. It is precisely these good news stories that need to be promoted.
“Irish Sea herring becomes one of just 200 fisheries worldwide that are complaint with the Marine Stewardship Council’s strict principles and criteria for sustainable fishing. In securing this objective the role of a number of players is recognised.
“These include the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Sea Fisheries team administer the European Fisheries Fund that provided the resource to deliver the certification. Also, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute have developed a partnership with the pelagic industry, data from which formed the scientific basis for the accreditation. Indeed, the ‘Havilah’ berthed earlier this morning following the latest stage of an annual fisheries science survey, which has been instrumental in rebuilding an understanding about the stock. Let us hope that adequate resources are secured to allow this survey to continue into the future.
“AFBI’s information was fed to the team from Food Certification International, who completed the assessment in a professional and friendly way in double quick time, ultimately delivering MSC approval from 1 August 2014, in time (as promised) for the 2014 fishery.
“The members of the Northern Ireland Pelagic Sustainability Group comprise the pelagic fishing vessels based in Northern Ireland, as well as the pelagic processors based in Ardglass and Kilkeel. Comgall Milligan was instrumental in encouraging his industry colleagues to follow the MSC process and his efforts have been rewarded.
“In the face of marketing challenges, most recently brought about by the ban on exports of fish to Russia, we hope that the award of the MSC accreditation will not only secure existing markets, but open up new ones globally.
“I therefore offer my congratulations to all involved with the award of this certificate. I hope your continuing hard work and dedication proves fruitful.”
The Anglo-Northern Irish fishery operates seasonally, this year starting at mid-August, with the total catch set at just over 5,200 tonnes of herring. The key markets for supply are Germany and Poland, with small quantities retained in the UK where they are smoked to produce kippers.
All fisheries aiming for MSC certification as sustainable and well managed are independently assessed against the MSC’s Environmental Standard for Sustainable Fishing. This is done by three scientific experts, with their work then peer reviewed by two further experts. NIPSG’s certification was carried out by independent certifier, Food Certification International (FCI), and took 16 months.
]]>
