Tag Archives: MSC
Ocean Wise pulls eco-labels from southeast Alaskan salmon
Canada’s largest sustainable seafood label has pulled its recommendation for southeast Alaskan salmon fisheries amid ongoing claims they are intercepting millions of B.C.-bound fish before they reach endangered southern resident killer whales. Ocean Wise quietly delisted the Alaskan fisheries last week, and on Monday, sent emails to restaurants and grocery chains that sell the fish. The decision, which targets chinook, chum, coho, pink and sockeye salmon in Alaska’s District 104, comes within weeks of the Vancouver-based eco-label adding a handful of B.C. salmon fisheries to its sustainable list. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:47
Whalsay scallop fisherman scoops ‘Hero of the Year’ award
A scallop fisherman from Whalsay has been named Hero of the Year at a UK fishing awards ceremony. George Andrew Williamson scooped the award on Thursday night for his work in championing the importance of sustainable seafood. The award, which recognises an outstanding individual who has driven forward further sustainability efforts, was given to Mr Williamson at a ceremony in London. Accepting the award via video link, he said: “It’s a great honour and I was really not expecting this.>>click to read<<,–>and here< 09:04
North Atlantic Right Whale: Maine Certified Sustainable Lobster Association loses MSC certification despite sustainable management of the Maine lobster fishery
The Maine Certified Sustainable Lobster Association (MCSLA) announced today that its Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification will be suspended due to a recent decision in the federal case Center for Biological Diversity v. Ross. The certificate suspension is occurring despite continued sustainable management of the Maine lobster fishery and remains the direct result of NOAA’s 2014 biological opinion on the impact that lobster fishing has on right whales. The MCSLA is anticipating NOAA’s 2020 draft biological opinion, which may be made public as soon as August 2020. Once the 2020 biological opinion is finalized and implemented, the MCSLA will work to quickly regain its MSC certification. >click to read< 11:45
Seafreeze Limited and Sea Fresh USA Certified as Sustainable
Longfin squid (Doryteuthis (Amerigo) pealeii), also known as loligo, and Northern shortfin squid (Illex illecebrosus) caught by Seafreeze Limited and Sea Fresh USA off the U.S. East Coast achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification today. The accomplishment firmly places the USA as a 
global leader in the production of certified squid, as the only two MSC-certified sustainably managed fisheries occur in US Atlantic waters. Certification was granted by independent certifier SCS Global Services based on the MSC sustainable fisheries standard following a 10 month assessment, and will remain certified through 2025. The fishery will undergo annual audits during that timeframe to ensure the MSC standard continues to be met. >click to read< 15:30
U.S. Shortfin Squid Fishery Achieves MSC Certification
The U.S. Northeast Northern Shortfin Squid (Illex illecebrosus) fishery in the Northwest Atlantic has been certified sustainable against the MSC fisheries standard. The assessment, executed by independent conformity assessment body SCS Global Services and requested by Lund’s Fisheries, Inc. and The Town Dock, was part of a scope expansion following the successful certification of the U.S. Northeast Longfin Inshore Squid (Loligo pealeii) bottom trawl fishery in 2018. Illex joins Loligo as the 2nd squid species in the world to be MSC certified. >click to read<22:37
Clearwater defends its lobster fishery
With a fisheries conviction in the news and an important eco-sustainability certification at stake, Halifax-based Clearwater Seafoods is defending the way it conducts its offshore Canadian lobster fishery. The company offered media a tour this week on board its 40-metre offshore lobster vessel, the Randell Dominaux, at its home port in Shelburne.,,, Clearwater holds all licences in Canada’s offshore Lobster Fishing Area 41. The boundary begins 50 miles from shore to Canada’s 200-mile limit. In practice, the fishery takes place off southern Nova Scotia. >click to read<13:02
Gloucester fish seller, supplier earn sustainability certification
Haddock, pollock and redfish — “The Big Three” — are getting a big new marketing edge from a little blue label. “There’s a lot of them out there,” says Jimmy Odlin from the headquarters of his Portland, Maine-based AtlanticTrawlers Fishing. “We just needed to sell more of it. We knew we needed to expand our market and after researching, we decided that MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification was the best fit.” The other half of Odlin’s “we” is Gloucester’s Nick Giacalone, who, along with brothers Chris and Vito Jr.,,, >click to read<14:10
Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery’s sustainability designation suspended in wake of whale deaths
Canada’s lucrative Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery has had its certification as an environmentally sustainable fishery suspended. The London-based Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced Tuesday it was suspending the certification — a stamp of approval for consumers — because the fishery has been linked to North Atlantic right whale deaths. Twelve of the critically endangered whales died in the Gulf St. Lawrence last year, with necropsies performed on six. >click to read< 12:11
Why Omega Protein has stirred up a big stink about a small fish
The disagreement between activists and Omega Protein depends on the answer to a simple question: Are there enough menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico? Omega says there are plenty, and it wants to keep it that way. Members of the Sierra Club Gulf Coast Group, the Coastal Conservation Association and other groups have their doubts. It’s an argument recreational fishermen and conservationists have been having with Omega for years. Omega has a menhanden reduction plant in Moss Point and regularly fishes the Mississippi Sound. The opposition to its activities began anew with vigor earlier this year when Omega began seeking a “certified sustainable seafood” designation from the Marine Stewardship Council. MSC is a London-based nonprofit (although it collects royalties from licensing its “ecolabel”) that was set up in 1997 by the World Wildlife Fund and Unilever, a global conglomerate that was at the time one of the world’s largest producers of frozen seafood. click here to read the story 10:28
North Sea cod gets MSC certification
At times during these moratorium years of the northern cod, people in this province have glanced at the North Sea to see how that cod stock was faring. Collapsed, recovered and collapsed again, North Sea cod over the years seemed on a different path than northern cod, and different methods were undertaken to attempt recovery and sustainability. On Wednesday, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that North Sea cod has received its distinguished certification after the stock passed an independent assessment against the MSC’s strict standards.,,, “Since then the industry has worked with the Scottish Government and EU Fisheries Council to agree and implement a ‘Cod Recovery Plan’ that would nurse the stock back to health. “The plan linked the number of days fishing that boats were given to the conservation measures they signed up to. click here to read the story 17:42
Objections registered to 3PS MSC cod certification will be heard by adjudicator
A hearing on whether the Canadian southern Newfoundland cod fishery in 3 PS will get MSC certification was held on Feb. 10. The Southern Newfoundland cod fishery, in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, has completed its MSC assessment, and the certifier has recommended certification for the major fishery gear types for both inshore and offshore cod. This certification has been in process since 2013, and is being strongly supported by WWF and the clients, Icewater Fisheries and Ocean Choice International. The certification is a requirement for sales of this cod into the European market. Read the rest here 13:55
Louisiana Shrimp Task Force approves money to assess sustainability
The Louisiana Shrimp Task Force approved spending $10,000 for a fishery sustainability pre-assessment to be done in the state. A pre-assessment is the first step in a fishery being certified environmentally sustainable and conforms to a set of internationally recognized standards. In a Fishery Improvement Plan, a pre-assessment is done on the fishery to gauge where the fishery stands relative to a certification standard. In this instance, the Marine Stewardship and Conversation program standards. Read the rest here 10:49
Swedish MSC fishery accused of illegal fishing – Still carry’s the ENGO Tax Stamp!
Trawlers in an Marine Stewardship Council-certified ‘sustainable’ lobster fishery have been caught using illegally modified nets to target valuable cod, reports the Ecologist, citing Dutch environmental group The Black Fish. The MSC was notified, but considered the evidence insufficient to act, so the lobsters still carry the, it said. Read the rest here 13:10
South Pacific Tuna Corporation Knuckles Under – Partnership to supply MSC-standard tuna
The company will be working with PNAO/Pacifical, the marketing arm of the eight Pacific Island Nations known as the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) Pacific Tuna Corporation says that this action underscores its commitment to maintaining the highest sustainability standards while harvesting tuna from PNA island waters. The company oversees management and operations of 14 US Flag tuna vessels owned by ‘The Global Fleets,’ Ocean Global Fisheries LLC, Sea Global Fisheries LLC and Pacific Global LLC. Read the rest here 17:40
Pacific Hake Mid-Water Trawl Fishery Earns MSC Re-Certification
The Pacific hake mid-water trawl fishery, which operates off the west coast of the United States and Canada, has achieved MSC re-certification following an independent, third-party assessment by certifier MRAG Americas. Read the rest here 10:54
Sustainable Fish and Seafood – Avoid Atlantic Scallops? Swordfish?? More Green Drivel!
After learning his trade at the famed Rodney’s Oyster House in Toronto, Joshua Bishop went off to see the world. There’s nothing too unusual in that — global backpacking is a rite of passage for innumerable young adults — except that when Bishop was in Australia, he decided to work on a few commercial fishing boats. He’s still got a lot to learn! Read the rest here 08:14
Swordfish Sustainability
Did you know Boston Sword & Tuna is one of the founding members of Sustainable Seafood LLC? Our two longliners, the Iron Maiden and the Iron Lady, fish in one of the best-managed fisheries in the world: the Northwest Atlantic swordfish fishery. A highly migratory fish, swordfish are managed in the Atlantic by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Read the rest here 19:32
Two Combined Gulf of St. Lawrence Shrimp Fisheries Achieve MSC Re-certification
Two Canadian MSC certified fisheries, the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GOSL) northern shrimp and the Gulf of St. Lawrence northern shrimp trawl Esquiman Channel fisheries, have joined in a cooperative effort into one combined shrimp fishery ,,, Read more here 07:38
Wal-Mart decision on Alaska seafood could be bad for fisheries
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will once again start selling Alaska salmon, but is its decision good for Alaska’s fisheries and fishing communities? State and federal politicians and industry boosters say yes; but with so many unaddressed social and ecological challenges facing our fisheries and fishing communities, I am not so sure. For those unfamiliar with the story, Wal-Mart had a policy to purchase only seafood that carries certification from the Marine Stewardship Council. Read more here alaskadispatch 09:28
Alaska Fishermen to Walmart: “Why Didn’t You Keep Your Promise to Congress?”
Alaska fishermen are pledging to take further action to hold Walmart accountable for its ongoing failure to keep its promise to revise by the end of 2013 its outdated and misguided policy that is shutting out a large proportion of sustainable Alaska salmon from its stores. Read [email protected] 17:38
“Alaska Salmon Now” Calls on Wal-Mart To Make A Decison About Sustainability Certifications
A small organization made up primarily of commercial fishermen and consumers is pressing Wal-Mart to make a decision about stocking products made with salmon from Alaska. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the story. Listen @kdlg 11:28
MSC certifies the scallop fishing industry in the United States as sustainable. Not all are impressed
The certification will allow the 14 member companies of the American Scallop Association to be able to display, for a fee, the blue MSC label on scallops from this fishery and to continue to sell to global customers who require proof of sustainability, according to an association news release. Maine scalloper Togue Brawn, who had brought a formal complaint to the MSC that was dismissed, issued a statement Thursday saying, “I am very disappointed that the Marine Stewardship Council would certify a fishery that contains no real measures to prevent overfishing in the Northern Gulf of Maine. This decision deals a significant blow to the integrity and validity of the MSC eco-label.” more@southcoasttoday 02:12
MSC trying to ‘whitewash’ the record books of Alaska salmon objection, say NGOs
The conservation groups that objected the the Alaska salmon fishery’s re-certification, which became final Tuesday, say the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) appears to be trying to whitewash the objection from the record books. They bring forth what they claim is an error in the MSC’s fisheries update for Tuesday. In the update, the MSC stated the Alaska salmon fishery had been re-certified after “no objections were received”. more@undercurrent 13:59
Dutch gill net fishermen dump MSC
“Several attempts to balance the financial burden with the revenues over the past years, did not yield enough to further maintain the certificate,” CVO said. – more@seafoodsource 11:27
Dr. Doug Butterworth – fisheries ministers around the world lost their authority to MSC in a coup de’etat in 2008
Butterworth says that prior to this the MSC was in the doldrums but in 2008 there was a quiet revolution in which fisheries ministers did not even realize that they had surrendered their authority on national fisheries policy to the MSC. Butterworth states that this resulted in an explosion in applications for MSC certification. more@blogspot 11:56
Fish fight: Walmart caught in the middle of Alaska salmon tangle
After a push from Alaskan salmon fisheries, Walmart considers alternative seafood certification systems. Will this undermine the Marine Stewardship Council’s dominance? more@theguardian 15:08
More than 80% of Alaska salmon will not be sold as MSC, says ASMI
A recent announcement by the Marine Stewardship Council should not be interpreted as a change in decision by a dozen Alaskan companies to no longer sell and support MSC salmon, said the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI). Although the bulk of the Alaska salmon fishery has earned MSC, the vast majority of Alaska salmon processing companies — 27 in total — will not be selling MSC-certified Alaskan salmon, said ASMI on Monday. more@undercurrent 13:49
WWF, MSC owe explanation, apology to Alaska fishermen – Senator Mark Begich
As chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries, I have the chance to brag about Alaska’s fisheries. That’s why I was offended by the recent “We don’t farm like this” video produced by World Wide Fund for Nature Canada (WWF) in support of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The short animated video grossly misrepresents the harvesting methods of longline, purse seine, and trawl fisheries and smears them as unsustainable. more@juneauempire 11:19
Tacky video bashes MSC biggest client base – MSC is on its way to irrelevance
This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – A cartoon video lampoons the MSC’s biggest clients. The fishing industry is not happy. More after this –Listen to alaskafishradio 16:51
MSC orders WWF Canada’s to yank the ‘We don’t farm like this’ animation that they thought was, oh so clever!
The MSC understands the concerns about the animation recently released by WWF Canada and appreciates their swift action at the request of MSC to remove it from their media channels. The MSC did not participate in the creation of the animation, nor does it endorse it. The message delivered in the animation is confusing, creates a negative message about some fishing gears,, [email protected] 15:57
