The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) said it “stands ready” to support a group of Alaska salmon processors as they seek their own client group for salmon, but it may take months to complete the process.
The MSC issued the statement to SeafoodSource when asked about the Pacific Seafood Processors Association (PSPA) choosing to apply for their own certificate on behalf of a collection of Alaska processors who have been unable to get onto the existing certificate held by the Alaska Salmon Processors Association (ASPA).
“As with any fishery certification applicant, the MSC stands ready to support and guide the Pacific Seafood Processors Association (PSPA) through the MSC certification process,” an MSC spokesman said.
The move by PSPA is the latest in an ongoing struggle for the processors – which include Trident Seafoods, Alaska General Seafoods, Alaska Glacier Seafoods, Bering Pacific Seafoods, Big Creek Fisheries, Deep Sea Fisheries, Great Pacific Seafoods, Icicle Seafoods, Icy Straits, Kwikpak Fisheries, Leader Creek Fisheries, North Pacific Seafoods, Ocean Beauty, Pacific Seafood, Pavlov Fisheries, Peter Pan Seafoods, Snug Harbor Seafoods, Taku Fisheries, Triad Fisheries, and Yukon Gold Fisheries – to earn certification for their salmon in time for the 2015 harvest, which state officials initially predicted would be larger than usual.
But the processors may still not get their wish. The MSC statement also outlined the typical process for acquiring a certificate, which can take up to 18 months, far too long to be of any use for 2015.
The processors initially applied to ASPA, which refused to allow them in. That touched off more than two months of negotiations, with the MSC at one point acting as mediator in the dispute. Rob Zuanich, ASPA's executive director, said only this week that “We remain in discussions” with the processors.
