Alaska’s two fisheries that operate in territorial waters off the coast of Alaska, Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska have earned re-certification to the MSC standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. A client group comprised of the Fishing Vessel Owners Association and Deep Sea Fishermen’s Union entered the fisheries into re-certification.
The product of these fisheries would continue to carry the MSC ecolabel that assures buyers and consumers the seafood can be traced back to a MSC-certified sustainable fishery. The U.S. North Pacific halibut (Hippoglosus stenolepis) is a bottom hook and longline fishery that uses hook size and design to harvest the target species while minimizing incidental by-catch or impact on the marine ecosystem.
The harvest of halibut is no less than 24,000 metric tonnes annually, with North America the major market for the catch, although some product is exported to the United Kingdom and Europe. The U.S. North Pacific sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria), known in many consumer markets as black cod, is a longline fishery in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, and the fish are typically harvested from depths in excess of 200 meters.
The sablefish harvest is approximately 18,000 metric tonnes annually and the primary market is Japan, although the U.S. market has increased in recent years. The fisheries are managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service, North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC) and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). In addition, the International Pacific Halibut Commission helps manage the halibut fishery.
Bob Alverson, manager of the Fishing Vessels Owners Association, said that the re-certifications are testament to the halibut and sablefish fishermen who have insisted on accountable management for decades. He also said that this would lead to the development of the International Pacific Halibut Commission. MSC is the global standard and the re-certifications validate to global markets that halibut and sablefish fisheries are certified sustainable.
Kerry Coughlin, regional director, Americas, said told that the re-certification to the MSC standard of these two important fisheries confirms to buyers and consumers worldwide that the fisheries continue to be responsibly managed, and products from them that bear the MSC label can be traced back to sustainable Alaskan fisheries.
