Seafood Source, September 18 2023.
The New Zealand orange roughy, which was recertified by MSC in 2022, has been a species of concern for us due to a history of poor management and uncertainty about the population.
Recently, New Zealand announced that they were unable to complete a stock assessment for the main stock of this species, which accounts for about 70% of MSC-certified orange roughy from New Zealand.
These certifications should be suspended due to this missing stock assessment. Karli Thomas, South Pacific coordinator with the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition says “The MSC [should] immediately suspend its certification of New Zealand orange roughy, as the main stock area no longer has a stock assessment – a fundamental [aspect] of fisheries management. The more we learn about orange roughy and the bottom-trawl fishery that targets it, the clearer it becomes that this fishery is about as far from ‘sustainable’ as you can get – yet U.S. consumers are being duped into thinking it is a good choice in seafood.”
Part of the New Zealand orange roughy fishery has ‘self-suspended’ from the MSC program as a result of the incomplete stock assessment. More coverage on this suspension:
- On World Fisheries Day, NZ Chatham Rise Orange Roughy Loses Sustainability Label, Scoop, November 21 2023.
- Fishing firms lose sustainability certification, impacting exports, newsroom, November 22 2023.
