The workplan includes a significant investment in research to improve understanding and monitoring of Northern cod. This will help the FIP ensure its goal that the fishery reopens at a time and pace only when the recovery of the stock is assured.
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is praising the Northern Cod Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP), lead by the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) and the Groundfish Enterprise Allocation Council (GEAC), for the results and workplan which the group unveiled earlier this week at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels. The workplan includes a significant investment in research to improve understanding and monitoring of Northern cod. This will help the FIP ensure its goal that the fishery reopens at a time and pace only when the recovery of the stock is assured.
“The scale of industry investment in science and research planned in this FIP is unprecedented,” said Jim Cannon, SFP’s Founder and CEO. “It’s an exciting development and shows what top-notch industry-lead FIPs can do to assist with core fisheries management tasks. SFP is committed to assisting the FIP in finding financing for these essential research activities.”
The results to date include improvements in the science (a Stage 4 result) and continued rebuilding of the stock (a Stage 5 result). These results earn the FIP a B grade for progress, the top grade possible for a FIP focused on select critical issues, as is clearly appropriate in this case.
Back in 2011, SFP convened customers for Canadian and US cod in the Northwest Atlantic Cod Supply Chain Roundtable (SR), to bring major cod suppliers and processors together to help launch and monitor FIPs. “This is a great demonstration of a positive result coming from an SR,” said Sam Grimley, Director of Strategic Initiatives for SFP’s Buyer Engagement Team and leader of the SR. “Given this is one of our oldest SRs, I think this is a very strong outcome and we look forward to the future of this FIP.” This ASP/GEAC initiative is one of two FIPs that are underway for this stock complex, both of which are monitored by SFP through the SR.