Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
13.6
Alaska pollock and the sustainable seafood marketplace
APA member companies are responsible for approximately half of the Alaska pol-
lock that is harvested and undergoes primary processing. Once the fishery certifi-
cation was completed, APA extended an invitation for all Alaska pollock producers
to participate in the benefits of the MSC certification and share the costs going
forward. Virtually the entire Alaska pollock sector has now joined the programme.
As a result, nearly all of the Alaska pollock production is eligible to carry the MSC
logo, and currently pollock accounts for two-thirds of all fish landed worldwide
that are eligible to carry the MSC ecolabel (Plate 13.2).
A logical place to begin looking at the market impacts of MSC certification
of Alaska pollock is within the operations of Unilever. As noted above, Unilever
was one of the biggest whitefish buyers in the world market, producing frozen fish
products under the Gorton's brand until 2001 and under the Iglo and Birds Eye
brands until 2006. Unilever's importance as a customer for Alaska pollock produc-
ers, and as a co-founder of the MSC with WWF, made a compelling case for APA
to apply for certification of the Alaska pollock fishery in 2001. The eventual 2005
certification of Alaska pollock combined with Unilever's continuing commitment
to source products from sustainable fisheries resulted in an increase in Unilever's
purchase of MSC-certified fish from 4% in 2004 to 46% in 2005 (Unilever 2005).
Unilever's well-known Iglo brand, which is widely available in Europe, used only
certified Alaska pollock in fish sticks and in certain other frozen fish products sold in
Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and France (pers.comm, Dr Dierk Peters,
Unilever). The Iglo brand packaging included the MSC logo, which significantly
expanded the MSC's visibility among consumers. However, it should be noted
that in 2001 Unilever sold its Gorton's subsidiary to another of the world's largest
seafood businesses, Japan's Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd., and in August 2006, Per-
mira, an international private equity firm, acquired the Iglo Birds Eye frozen foods
from Unilever. Gorton's products do not employ the MSC logo, but the seafood
sustainability commitment on the company's website features Alaska pollock and
identifies the species as Gorton's 'most important and primary source of supply'
(www.gortons.com/protecting-our-resources.php). For now, Permira is continuing
to source Alaska pollock for its Iglo brand fish sticks and to use the MSC logo on
the packaging.
Another strong supporter of the MSC programme is Young's, a leading UK fish
brand. In September 2006, Young's launched a frozen fish fillet product featur-
ing MSC-labelled Alaska pollock under the company's Chip Shop label, which is
Young's best-selling battered fish product line (Plate 13.3) (www.youngsseafood.
co.uk).
By March 2007, there were 167 different Alaska pollock products bearing
the MSC ecolabel being marketed in 12 countries, predominantly in Europe
(www.msc.org). The Metro Group, a multinational retail chain with supermarkets
and convenience stores, conducted sustainable seafood promotions in Germany in
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