The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its list of acceptable market names for seafood to allow only pollock caught in Alaskan waters to be marketed as ‘Alaska Pollock’.
This change is effective immediately.
Senator Lisa Murkowski has been working to change the market name of pollock since September 2014.
“I have long fought to resolve this issue, and I am thrilled that this change has been made to protect both our fisheries and consumers,” said Senator Murkowski. “Alaska is the gold standard of fish management. It is disingenuous and harmful to our fishing industry for Russian-harvested pollock to be passed off as Alaskan. Now consumers can be confident that pollock labelled as ‘Alaskan’ is caught only in our state’s healthy, sustainable waters.”
According to the FDA requirements, only Gadus chalcogrammus caught in Alaskan waters or the exclusive economic zone (as defined in section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act) adjacent to Alaska can be called Alaskan Pollock or Alaska Pollock.
Previously, pollock harvested outside Alaskan waters or the exclusive economic zone were allowed to be labelled as Alaska Pollock. These fish can now be labelled only as ‘Pollock’.
