Legislation introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska on 18 September would prohibit federal agencies from using certification schemes when considering or labeling any domestic seafood catch as sustainable.
The Responsible Seafood Certification and Labeling Act would prohibit any U.S. federal agency from requiring or endorsing the use of any third party non-governmental organization’s label, criteria or other scheme to certify fish or seafood as sustainable. This prohibition will apply to any federal agency’s purchase of fish or seafood, the sale of fish or seafood by a vendor or lessee on federal land or property, and any reference to a seafood sustainability standard developed by a third party non-governmental organization in any regulation, policy or guideline.
Murkowsk joins other Alaska lawmakers Sen. Mark Begich and Congreeman Don Young in an effort to influence the purchasing policies of Walmart, Sodexo, the U.S. National Park Service and other regarding their requirement that seafood be certified to the MSC or an equivalent sustainability standard.
“It is bad federal policy to allow third party certifiers, including foreign Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), to decide what seafood is allowed to be sold in National Parks, or procured by federal agencies,” said Murkowski. “Not too long ago, wild Alaska salmon served as the flagship species for MSC. Now MSC is disparaging the ‘sustainability’ of Alaska salmon. MSC and NGOs like them have political agendas, lack transparency, and use their certification schemes to inappropriately influence federal and state fisheries management.
“This is the right federal policy for the Alaska seafood industry, and for our nation’s fishermen and coastal communities that depend on healthy and sustainable fisheries. It also is the right policy to ensure that hard working fishermen and the coastal communities that depend on them are not disadvantaged by the agenda of several misguided NGOs.”
