A new tool to document the environmental impact and sustainability of cod and haddock fishing in the North Atlantic has been developed.
In the three-year WhiteFish project, industry organisations and 15 researchers from all over Europe have developed the method to document everything from the individual fishing vessel’s environmental audit, including fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, to the fisheries’ significance to society.
We have systemised a huge quantity of data about everything that happens relating to harvesting, processing and distribution, says Nofima scientist, Kathryn Donnelly.
The fisheries industry is subject to strict rules for documentation and traceability. Using the standard developed in WhiteFish, individual companies can plot information about their operation and calculate their environmental audit and sustainability, which means that individual companies can identify where they could improve in terms of the environment, welfare and economy.
The Batch-based Calculation of Sustainability Impact (BCSI) method is based on a huge quantity of collected data and makes it possible for those in the industry to make ongoing sustainability assessments for their own products.
WhiteFish is a three-year (2012-2014) EU project, coordinated by Nofima senior scientist Petter Olsen. The method that was developed is now being implemented and tested in practice and the associated standard is under consultation with industry organisations and other stakeholders.
Mercator Media Ltd 2015