Northern prawn

Several fisheries on the northern prawn are MSC-certifiedMSC Certified:
Fisheries that comply with the Marine Stewardship Council assessment criteria and are certified. Fish products with the blue MSC label are caught by sustainable fisheries.. In the east Atlantic Ocean there are fisheries from among others Denmark, Estonia, Greenland, Scotland, the Faroe Islands and Norway MSC-certified.

The northern prawn is caught with fine-meshed otter trawls with a sorting panel in the opening of the net, which allows young fish to escape. This prevents bycatch of fish as much as possible.

Several fisheries on the northern prawn are MSC-certifiedMSC Certified:
Fisheries that comply with the Marine Stewardship Council assessment criteria and are certified. Fish products with the blue MSC label are caught by sustainable fisheries.. In the north-west Atlantic Ocean there are since 2008 several Canadian [bottom otter trawl] fisheries MSC-certified.

The northern prawn is caught with fine-meshed otter trawls with a sorting panel in the opening of the net, which allows young fish to escape. This prevents bycatch of fish as much as possible.

The stock of northern prawn in Canada and Greenland is healthy and is not being overfished.

Bycatch in this fishery is low, in part due to the use of material that reduces bycatch. All ships also have sorting grids, which release the bottom fish alive. There is a possibility that vulnerable bottom habitats, like cold-water corals and sponges, are being affected.

The management covers all aspects of the fishery and is effective.

The prawn stock in this fishing area is healthy and the [fishing pressure] is sufficiently low. The northern prawn is probably well resistant to the impacts of the fishery.

The shrimp fishery uses fine-meshed otter trawls. At first there was a lot of bycatch of cod and redfish, but bycatch has been reduced due to the use of selection panels. Discarding is forbidden in Norwegian waters. When there is a high amount of bycatch of young and undersizedUndersized fish:
Fish smaller than a prescribed minimum size. These sizes are determined per species and per country. For Europe, a minimum landing size applies to all EU Member States.  fish, areas are temporarily closed for the fishery.

[Bottom otter trawls] have an impact on the seabed and directly cause a disruption of the bottom life. The long-term effects on the [species composition] in these deep-sea areas are unknown. Cold-water coral reefs in the Norwegian waters are protected by means of closed areas.

Even though there is no management plan for the northern prawn, the stock management has showed to be effective. the fishing pressure is mainly regulated by a limitation of the fishing effort, permits, obligatory use of selection panels and a minimum mesh-size. Steps are being made to protect vulnerable areas against the negative effects bottom disturbing fisheries, including the closing of several areas for bottom otter trawls.

The northern prawn stock in this fishing area is not doing well. The [fishing pressure] has decreased, but currently there is still overfishing taking place.

Fishing is done with [bottom otter trawls] with a small mesh-size. Despite this the amount of bycatch in this area is low, due to the use of selection panels. There are incidental bycatches of sharks and rays. The effect on these vulnerable species is unknown. Bottom otter trawls disrupt the bottom life. Intensive fishing can lead on the long-term to a change in the species composition. This is especially plausible on these deep seabeds, that are not often disturbed.

The [fishing pressure] on the shrimp stock in the waters of Greenland is regulated by means of a minimum mesh size and [quota’s]. These measures seem to be sufficient. In both areas it is forbidden to discard shrimp and the use of a selection panel is obligatory.

The precise state of the northtern prawn stock in this area is unclear. There are strong indications that the stock is shrinking and that the [fishing pressure] has to go down.

The shrimp fishery uses fine-meshed trawl nets, which has a lot of bycatchBycatch:
Species caught next to species targeted for fishery. By-catches can consist of non-commercial species and species that are too small, and can be kept (this part is sometimes called by-product) or thrown back into the sea (discards).  of young shrimp and young fish. Selection panels lead to a strong reduction in the amount of bycatch. [Bottom otter trawls] have an impact on the seabed and directly disturb the bottom life. The long-term effects on the [species composition] in these deep-sea areas are unknown.

Norway and the EU have a joint management of this fishery. The shrimp fishery is managed by [catch limits], [quota’s], permits and technical measures. In Norwegian and Swedish waters a selection panel is obligatory. In Norway it is forbidden to discard bycatch. If the amount of bycatch is too high in Norway, fishing area’s are closed for the fishery. Steps are being made to protect vulnerable areas against the negative effects bottom disturbing fisheries, including the closing of several areas for bottom otter trawls.