An independent adjudicator has accepted the formal objection of three British Columbia, Canada, -based conservation organisations to the certification of Alaskan salmon as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
The objection filed by SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Watershed Watch Salmon Society will now proceed through MSC’s independent adjudication process and could thwart Alaska’s efforts to retain the MSC certification.
“The decision to accept the notice of objection signals an acknowledgement that there may be flaws in the assessment of Alaska’s salmon fishery,” said Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Programme Director at Raincoast Conservation Foundation.
Alaskan salmon has been sold with the MSC blue check labelling it a sustainable seafood product since 2000. The current certification expires in May and a third-party assessment has recommended MSC re-certify the fishery.
“Our groups oppose re-certification due to the devastating impact Southeast Alaska’s non-selective fisheries have on salmon and steelhead populations all along the Pacific Coast. These fleets disproportionately intercept millions of salmon and steelhead bound for BC, Washington and Oregon. They also fail to adequately track and report by-catch,” said Greg Knox, Executive Director of SkeenaWild Conservation Trust.
According to the objection, Alaskan fisheries near the BC border have been harvesting an increasing proportion of the total catch of BC salmon and now harvest the lion’s share, as Canadian fisheries have been curtailed to protect at-risk populations.
The decision by MSC was welcomed by Greg Taylor, a former Canadian seafood industry executive and fisheries consultant.
“MSC already refuses to certify some Alaskan salmon fisheries because it does not consider them ‘sustainable’. It is time MSC adds Southeast Alaskan salmon fisheries to this list,” Taylor said. “Failing to do so erodes consumers’ confidence in MSC certifications and Alaskan claims that its salmon is harvested in sustainable fisheries.”
The independent adjudicator has also accepted an objection filed by the UK-based Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) over the gillnet bycatch of seabirds, in particular, the globally endangered marbled murrelet.
Though there have been previous objections to MSC certification of Alaskan fisheries, this is the first time an independent adjudicator has accepted any in relation to the Alaskan salmon fishery.
“Our goal here is to end the greenwashing of Alaska’s unsustainable interception fisheries,” said Aaron Hill, Executive Director at Watershed Watch Salmon Society. “We want to see their commercial fleet adopt international best practices and reduce their massive impacts on endangered Pacific salmon and wildlife populations.”
