SNOW CRAB FISHERY NOT SUSTAINABLE

Loss of international designation due to right whale deaths

The Gulf of St. Lawrence’s lucrative snow crab fishery has lost its international designation as environmentally sustainable, following the deaths of more than a dozen endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The Marine Stewardship Council announced the suspension Tuesday after an expedited audit of the fishery in the southern Gulf.

The London-based organization said the fishery in four areas — designated as areas 12, 12E, 12F and 19 — no longer meets the council’s standard when it comes to endangered, threatened and protected species.

It means crabs from those areas cannot be sold as MSC-certified or bear the telltale blue MSC label, which suggests to consumers that a species has been caught in a manner that does not harm the ecosystem or other marine life.

Annie Chiasson, spokeswoman for the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, said it’s a blow to the fishery, which received the increasingly desired designation in 2012.

“We don’t panic with this news, but it’s not good news — no one wants to lose the certification,” she said from Moncton, N.B. “They have a plan and they need to make some corrections.”

She said that as a result, some crab-sellers may turn their attention to the Japanese market, which may not require the product to have the MSC certification. The season opens next month.

The council said that under the terms of the suspension, the fishery group has 90 days to submit a corrective action plan. It could then regain compliance with the MSC program, although the suspension would only be lifted after a certifier does another review.