Espersen Acquires Royal Greenland Facility in Koszalin Through Strategic Partnership

On May 23rd, the offshore Greenland halibut fishery in West Greenland received the MSC certification, recognizing it as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. This certification holds significant value for Royal Greenland and the country as a whole. Lisbeth Due Schönemann-Paul, the Corporate Sustainability & CSR Manager at Royal Greenland, expressed her delight and pride over the certification. She believes that this will help meet the customer demand for certified Greenland halibut. The certification is a result of the collective efforts of various stakeholders in Greenland, including fishermen, the industry (including Royal Greenland), and the Greenlandic authorities. These entities collaborated under the Sustainable Fisheries Greenland organization. An independent auditing firm conducted a thorough analysis and documentation of the fishery over an extended period. This included an examination of the biological data of the West Greenlandic stock of Greenland halibut, the fishing methods and equipment used, and inspections of the factories. The fishery, primarily located in Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait off the West Greenlandic coast, has been operational since the mid-1960s. The certification includes 4 trawlers, among which are Royal Greenland's vessels Sisimiut and Tuugaalik. The Greenlandic Self-rule Government manages the fishery and sets the annual quota. Fishermen are required to maintain a log and monitor the catches. Large mesh size nets are used to reduce bycatch of non-target species and undersized fish. The fishery operates on the "move-on" principle, which requires fishing vessels to relocate if bycatch exceeds 10% or if corals or sea sponges are spotted. MSC considers the stock to be healthy and stable. In Greenland, fishing companies are required to land a portion of their catches. This means that 25% of offshore catches are landed locally and processed at factories along the West Greenland coast. These factories primarily produce fillets for the European markets. The rest of the catch is filleted on board the trawlers or frozen either whole or headed and gutted. Whole fish are often sold to Asia as finished products or for further local processing. The certification is retrospective and is valid for the entire 2017 season. However, the blue/white logo will not appear on Royal Greenland's packaging until the fall, when offshore fish are again landed at their factories.