Michael Lodge, the Independent Adjudicator for the objection against Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of the Russia Sea of Okhotsk pollock fishery, has cleared the fishery for certification.
WWF and the At-sea Processors Association (APA) objected to the certification of the fishery, but the WWF objection was withdrawn earlier this year, following changes made to the fishery’s plans for data collection.
APA filed an objection over procedural and scoring issues, which have now been addressed by the Conformity Assessment Body (CAB). The CAB will now submit its amended report to Mr Lodge to confirm that the changes made during the objection process are correctly reflected, and then the fishery is eligible to bear the MSC ecolabel on its products.
David Agnew, MSC standards director, said that the objection process is completely independent of the MSC. “The objection process provides another important check and balance in the MSC program and another layer of transparency that assures the parties directly involved, as well as global markets and consumers, that decisions about MSC certifications are arrived at impartially and based on comprehensive stakeholder input and independent, robust science that can withstand the highest level of scrutiny.”
