Knowledge about the NaturSkånsom certification

"NaturSkånsom" is a certification for fishbased on an ecosystem approach, aiming to make it easy for consumers to choose fish caught with gentle methods that have a minimal impact on the seabed, thus avoiding disturbance to the marine life on the seafloor. The NaturSkånsom concept aligns with an understanding of ecosystems.

For a fish to be certified as "NaturSkånsom," it must primarily be caught using one of the tools listed in the regulation for NaturSkånsom. This includes gear such as gillnets, lines, hooks, traps, and bottom-set gillnets.

Additionally, the fisher using these tools must have undergone a course on handling fish caught in a NaturSkånsom manner. Lastly, the fish must belong to a stock that is assessed as being in favorable conservation status.

This label represents the world's first government-controlled mark for fish and can be likened to the organic label that most people are familiar with. Similar to the organic label, it takes time for fishers and buyers to adapt to using the NaturSkånsom label, but positive trends are already noticeable.

If you want more fish labeled with NaturSkånsom, the best thing you can do is to request it. Demand often creates a market.By embracing this concept, you actively contribute to creating a richer marine environment when you seek out fish certified with the NaturSkånsom label.

The larger the proportion of a given fish quota caught with gentle fishing methods, the less disturbance to the seabed, resulting in stronger ecosystems capable of supporting more life. Consequently, more fish to fish on!

Requirements for the marking

01

Gentle capture methods

The fish must be caught with gentle tools.

02

Quality

Fishermen must have completed a quality training course, including training in
food handling.

03

Smaller vessels

The vessel from which the fish is caught must not be longer than 17 meters.

04

Coastal

80% of the fishing voyages of a vessel in a calendar year are no longer than 48 hours.

05

Healthy stocks

No fish species in the scheme must be endangered, and all fishthe scheme must be captured from healthy stocks.

“Fish is the world's last wild commodity, and yet we fish as if it were an agricultural commodity that we can just sow more of. We can't do that. We are going to have to look at how we are going to fish in certain areas so that we don't destroy the habitats of fish, but instead fish in a way where we ensure there are fish in the sea for our grandchildren as well. “

- Jesper Redecker Hansen, Fiskerikajen