Iceland’s cod fishery has been recertified to the Icelandic Responsible Fisheries Management Specification (IRFM).
The certification, which is based on the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) guidelines, proves that the fishery is being managed responsibly and is in line with internationally recognised criteria, according to the Iceland Responsible Foundation (IRF), which added that it came as a “testament to the continued development of Icelandic fisheries”.
During the assessment, the Icelandic fisheries management system was fully reviewed, taking into account its management system, stock assessment and individual transferable quotas (ITQ). It concluded its harvest control rule (HCR) and management system adopted a precautionary approach, which meant the ecosystem was being carefully treated and responsibly harvested.
Cod is the Icelandic economy’s most valuable fish species, accounting for almost a third (32 per cent) of the total export value of marine species. The cod quota for this fishing year, which runs from September 2014 to August 2015, stands at 216,000 metric tonnes.