The U.S. Government’s General Services Administration (GSA) has agreed to keep third-party groups and NGOs out of its federal fish sustainability certification process, after pressure from one Alaska lawmaker.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has been pressing the GSA to stand by its own rules not to allow third parties to dictate a definition of sustainable seafood to the government. Most recently, the senator proposed legislation to put a spotlight on the issue.
Murkowski has said she is trying to keep environmental nonprofit groups such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) from unduly influencing the government processes for labeling seafood as sustainable.
“Not too long ago, wild Alaska salmon served as the flagship species for sustainability around the world,” Murkowski said. “Now some NGOs are disparaging the ‘sustainability’ of Alaska salmon, all the while having political agendas, lacking transparency, and using their certification schemes to inappropriately influence federal and state fisheries management.”
Murkowski praised the GSA for its decision, saying, “I appreciate the GSA reviewing its policy allowing third-party certifiers to have an undue influence on federal decision-making by determining what seafood is allowed to be procured by federal agencies for our National Parks nationwide, troops overseas, or our own school children.”
