The At-Sea Processors Association (APA) is calling for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to re-examine its certification for the Russian Sea of Okhotsk (SOO) fishery after media reports in Myanmar and Russia uncovered a Russian trawler connected to the fishery was operating using foreign nationals working illegally on it.
Stephanie Madsen, executive director of the APA, sent a letter on 17 April to Intertek Fisheries, the third-party certification firm used by the MSC, referencing the Russian pollock fishing vessel Dalniy Vostok. The vessel sank on 2 April. Madsen’s letter quoted the Moscow Times saying 69 crew members died in the sinking.
The letter cites subsequent media reports from Russia and Myanmar indicating 40 percent of the crew as made up of illegal foreign workers, including 42 from Myanmar. Russian media quoted Investigative Committee Spokesman Vladimir Markin as saying, “There are no doubts that this is a crime at the base of which lies the greed of the businessmen who owned the vessel and corrupt officials.”
The MSC granted certification to the fishery in September 2013 amid criticism from multiple stakeholders. Now, the APA is demanding MSC revisit the certification and pressure Russian officials to be more transparent about their enforcement efforts.
“The sinking of the Dalniy Vostok is first and foremost a terrible and avoidable human tragedy,” Madsen wrote. “It also highlights the reputational risks for everyone when there is not independent verification of attestations of policies and enforcement made by fishery managers when there are serious, legitimate concerns about their veracity.”
