orway KingCrab AS has earned Friend of the Sea (FOS) certification for its red king crabs.The fishery is made up of small coastal vessel fishing with pots for a maximum of 30 pots for each vessel. No protected area is affected by the fishing activities and pots do not impact the seabed. No bycatch or discard are generated as the pots are equipped with escaping way and non-target species or juveniles are released alive to the sea.
The target stock of red king crab is not overexploited in the fishing area and overfishing is not occurring. Local authorities ensure very accurate controls and after each capture they communicate every single boat the new allowed fishing quota. The fishery respects the threshold reference point indicated by ICES.
The fishery and processing plants have an efficient energy and waste management system in place. Waste is mostly recycled and there’s no use of ozone depleting refrigerants.
“Friend of the sea certification represents an important added value for our products,” said Svein Ruud, Norway KingCrab CEO. “And we’re proud to have obtained this international acknowledgment.”
“This is the first Friend of the Sea certification of King crab. The fishing method is particularly selective and the fishery deserves to be considered sustainable,” said Paolo Bray, FOS director.
