Irish rope-grown mussels achieve blue label status
Ireland’s rope-grown mussel fishery has achieved Marine Stewardship Council certification. This recognition, along with the seabed cultured fishery in 2013, means that Ireland’s entire mussel fishery is certified under the management of the state’s seafood development agency, BIM.
Chief executive, Jim O’Toole, said their collaborative, cross-industry approach, was behind this success:
“The prestigious certification achieved allows for a unique national approach where all mussel growers operating in licensed harvest locations in Ireland can now label their mussels with the MSC ecolabel. [This shows] they are MSC certified as sustainable and from a well-managed fishery.”
Ireland’s mussel industry is export focused and MSC certification “provides valuable evidence to the marketplace of the sustainable environment in which our seafood is produced,” he added.
Jo Pollett, MSC senior fisheries outreach officer (UK & Ireland) said the award was “great news” for Irish mussels:
“BIM has shown ambition and leadership in pushing for the sustainability of Irish fisheries.”
Volume & value
In 2018, the Irish mussel industry was valued at €11.7m. The rope grown sector, which was introduced predominantly on the west coast in the 1980s, produces circa 9,000 tonnes annually. Total mussel volume in the twelve months (rope and bottom-grown) was 13,800 tonnes.
Accreditation
The MSC is an international non-profit organisation whose vision is for the world’s oceans to be teeming with life and for to safeguard seafood supplies for future generations.
Their ecolabel and certification programme recognises and rewards sustainable fishing to create a sustainable seafood market.
The ecolabel means that certified produce comes from a wild-catch fishery that has been independently certified to their science-based standard and is fully traceable to a sustainable source.
Over 370 fisheries in roughly 38 countries are certified to MSC standard and have combined annual seafood production of more than 11 million tonnes, representing 15% of global marine catch. Circa 38,000 seafood products worldwide carry the MSC label.
