The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has been in touch with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) [1] earlier this week informing us that they are currently reviewing their status as the client for the MSC-certified Alaskan salmon fishery and seeking advice as they explore finding a new industry client to take on this role.

A change of clients is permitted under the MSC programme and is not unprecedented.  It is also important to note that a change of client does not affect the value and credibility of a fisheries’ certificate as a globally recognised third-party verification of sustainability. The Alaskan salmon fishery was recertified in November 2007 and the current certificate is valid until 2012.

As ADF&G have stated, in taking this action they recognise that as a fisheries management agency and State Government Department, their position as a client for an MSC certification is unusual. More typically fisheries clients are groups of fishers and their associations or seafood industry and commercial entities, who are better placed to directly benefit from all the advantages third party certification can bring.

The MSC is in close contact with ADF&G and the Alaskan seafood industry and looks forward to working with the department to facilitate the transition to a new client as smoothly as possible. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank ADF&G for their leadership in acting as the client for the first Alaskan fishery to enter into assessment under the MSC programme and for continuing in this role for 9 years. There are now 8 Alaskan fisheries represented by a range of clients, either certified or in assessment under the MSC programme representing over 2.5 million tonnes of landed seafood. MSC certified Alaskan salmon enjoys considerable success in a rapidly increasing number of markets around the world and we look forward in working with the new client to facilitate that growth.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

[1] Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): The MSC is an international non-profit organisation that was set up in 1997 to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. The MSC runs the only widely recognised environmental certification and eco-labelling programme for wild capture fisheries. It is the only seafood eco-label that is consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and UN FAO guidelines for fisheries certification. The FAO ‘Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries’, require that credible fishery certification and eco-labelling schemes include:

- Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilising scientific evidence;
- Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
- Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

MSC has offices in London, Seattle, Tokyo, Sydney, The Hague, Edinburgh and Berlin. In total, over 120 fisheries are engaged in the MSC programme with 31 certified, 70 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together the fisheries record annual catches of over 5 million tonnes of seafood. They represent over 42 percent of the world’s wild salmon catch, 40 percent of the world’s prime whitefish catch, and 18 percent of the world’s lobster catches for human consumption. Worldwide, over 1,500 seafood products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label. For more information, please visit www.msc.org