According to the conservation groups in British Columbia (BC), Canada, consumers should not purchase endangered sockeye salmon certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). MSC granted sustainability certification to the Fraser River commercial sockeye fishery last week despite last year’s sockeye population collapse. Besides, there is a federal judicial inquiry into management of the fishery is going on.
Greg Knox with SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, informed that the recent events are both misleading and irresponsible to certify the Fraser fishery as sustainable. Greg said that they will be launching a new awareness campaign for European consumers advising that the certified salmon they are buying could come from BC’s endangered Fraser River sockeye population.
Scientists have said the Fraser River sockeye fishery does not meet the criteria of a sustainable fishery because it continues to catch endangered salmon and strategies to recover dwindling fish populations are not being implemented. Vicky Husband, senior advisor with Watershed Watch Salmon Society, opines that these kinds of endangered salmon should not be considered a sustainable choice until the fisheries management system is improved and endangered stocks given a chance to recover.
