Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
standing within the NGO community, particularly the US NGO community. Pro-
gramme modifications should result in a more predictable, efficient, cost-effective
programme, and not an unstable context for decision-making.
The matter of market impacts of Alaska pollock certification is covered only
briefly in this chapter. The market benefits of seafood ecolabelling are difficult to
quantify, and while not a focal point of this chapter, the chapter provides at least a
sense of the industry reaction to certification both among producers and buyers.
Finally, this chapter covers key aspects of the MSC's “reform agenda,” - the MSC
initiatives undertaken as a reaction to two reviews of the MSC programme funded by
private US foundations in 2004. Will new policy directions or programme changes
resulting from this re-evaluation of the MSC help or hurt participating fisheries'
efforts to make the certification process more practical, consistent and affordable?
13.2
The At-sea Processors Association
The APA (www.atsea.org) is a trade association composed of 7 companies that
own and operate 19 US-flagged trawl catcher/processor vessels. These vessels par-
ticipate primarily in the Alaska pollock fishery and the US West Coast Pacific
whiting fishery. APA represents the collective interests of the member companies
in the fisheries management process as well as in matters that come before the US
Congress.
The Alaska pollock fishery is the largest US fishery. APA's member companies
account for more than half of the annual landings and primary processing of Alaska
pollock. In 2006, about 1.45 million metric tons (t) of Alaska pollock was landed
in the larger Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BS/AI) fishery within the US Exclusive
Economic Zone (NMFS 2006a). An additional 68 950 t of Alaska pollock was also
harvested within the US zone in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) fishery (NMFS 2006b).
APA catcher/processor vessels are precluded by US law from participating in the
more modest GOA Alaska pollock fishery. However, the association has acted as
the client for the certification of both of these two distinct fishery management units
that constitute the Alaska pollock fishery. Overall, Alaska pollock comprises 35%
by weight of all fish landed in the US (Figure 13.1).
In the autumn of 2000, the Unilever Corporation, a co-founder of the MSC,
approached APA about applying to have the Alaska pollock fishery assessed against
the MSC sustainability standard. At the time, Unilever was one of the largest, if
not the largest, whitefish buyer in the world - the corporation owned such popular
brands as Gorton's, Iglo and Birds Eye. Unilever was committed to sourcing seafood
from proven sustainable fisheries, and Alaska pollock was one of the world's largest
fisheries (Figure 13.2) and at that time an important component of Unilever's fish
supply. APA representatives met on several occasions with the MSC to discuss the
programme and the prospects for certification of the fishery. The association had
reviewed the MSC Principles and Criteria for sustainable fishing and believed that
Search WWH ::
Custom Search