Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
assessment was conducted by Scientific Certification Systems following all MSC-
required processes and protocols (see http://www.msc.org/html/content 465.htm
for details) to determine if the fishery complied with the MSC standard. The as-
sessment process was spread over about 18 months because it was difficult to get
access to all the relevant and important information on the fishery that was held
in the government, academic and industry sources. The assessment process itself
involved
an expert team of four people, all Ph.D. scientists, each with more than a decade
of fisheries experience;
development and dissemination of performance measures for fishery and public
comment;
public and stakeholder comment on fishery management;
public and peer review of draft report and certification recommendations.
The certification body, in finding that the fishery did comply with the MSC
standard, set a number of conditions, including
the requirement to conduct a review of ecological risks in the fishery, such as
an ecological risk assessment;
the requirement to provide a strategic research plan that shows how the research
for the fishery is planned and conducted over the short term and long term.
There are many indicators that show the Baja California lobster fishery is a
strongly managed and sustainable fishery. Many of these points come from the
fact that this is a small fishery where the fishers in the cooperatives can, on their
own, develop and enforce management of the resource and the fishing grounds.
The fishers mostly use small 2-3 m fishing boats and set and pull the traps by
hand (Plates 12.1 and 12.2). Legislative/regulatory changes are developed after a
public discussion process with all stakeholders and only then any such changes are
recommended to government with the support of the community.
12.6
The fishery and the market for products
since certification
The fishery has maintained its performance level since certification, and has success-
fully completed two annual audits (2005 and 2006, see www.msc.org) to maintain
its MSC certification status. The price of the products has remained stable, with
no premium price reported, and sales have behaved in a similar fashion to those
before certification. The price stability is explained by the fact that Baja California
lobster captured by FEDECOOP-affiliated cooperatives had already secured very
high prices before certification because it is sold live to Asian markets in Hong
Kong and Taiwan. Cooperatives were not as interested in a price premium as they
were in opportunities for diversifying their markets. Since Asian markets are not
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