The face of Alaska wild salmon is changing, now that the state’s leading salmon processors have chosen to switch sustainability certification programs to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) model from a long-standing pact with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
While the switch won’t be finalized until 2013, discussion of the decision will be ongoing. “It has been a topic of conversation,” acknowledges Ray Riutta, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, who adds there are plans to sit down with all producers over the ensuing 18 months “and work them through it.”
After the announcement in January, Riutta says the response has been “generally positive,” with questions coming from involved parties such as distributors, processors and retailers as well as observers like non-governmental organizations.
Alaska is following the example set by Iceland, which also adopted the FAO certification program, says Riutta. And the Alaska legislature has supported the move as well, he adds.
Gov. Sean Parnell, who addressed a luncheon at the International Boston Seafood Show, told the group, “It’s no surprise that we (Alaska) would be one of the first, just after Iceland, to put forth a choice in certification. The Responsible Fisheries Management model is based on the most recognized and internationally accepted set of guidelines.”
Click here to read the full story from the May issue of SeaFood Business >
