ACM’s informal assesment of collaboration in shrimp fishing sector

The Cooperative Fisheries Organization (in Dutch: Coöperatieve Visserij Organisatie, or CVO) and its members are allowed to make an arrangement in order to prevent overfishing of the North Sea Brown shrimp. The CVO wishes to adopt the so-called Harvest Control Rule of the MSC certification label, and mandate this rule for its members. With this rule, the CVO can impose temporary catch restrictions on its members in order to protect the shrimp population. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has ruled that this initiative is not at odds with the competition rules. The prevention of overfishing is important for the fisheries sector as well as for the survival of other marine life, and the initiative does not go beyond what is necessary for this purpose. This is the first time that a sustainability agreement has been tested against the competition rules in the European fishing regulations.

ACM has assessed the initiative in accordance with the Policy Rule regarding ACM’s oversight of sustainability agreements. ACM has no objections