Russian pollock producers and global buyers joining forces towards MSC certification of Russian APO fisheries
Russian pollock producers and global buyers joining forces towards MSC certification of Russian APO fisheries
On 5 September 2008 during the International Fisheries Congress in Vladivostok a new project Russian Pollock Fishery Improvement Partnership officially took off, a spokesman of Russia's leading pollock concern BAMR Company told https://www.fishnet.ru/ (http://www.fishnet-russia.com/). Such an announcement was made in the context of Russian Alaska pollock fishery having entered the MSC Certification process.
The new international partnership aims to unite major buyers and producers of Russian pollock to secure long-term, stable supply of the fish and maintain the healthy conditions of Russian Alaska pollock eco-system. In this situation, the main task of the Partnership is to achieve consolidation of resources, knowledge and experience in order to help Russian Alaska Pollock Association to successfully achieve a complete MSC certification.
Russian Pollock Fishery Improvement Partnership is lead by BAMR-ROLIZ Group of Companies, BirdsEye Iglo Group and SFP. Among other members of the Partnership are: FRoSTA, Royal Greenland, FoodVest, Pickenpack, Delmar and Fishin' Company. It is planned to attract new members to the Partnership from the side of buyers and producers.
There were several meetings organized during the Fishery Congress in Vladivostok. According to the participants of the meetings, the Fishery Congress became a good venue for the biggest buyers and producers, scientists and Government bodies to gather face-to-face to discuss their mutual needs. Moreover, the world fish industry players have got a more vivid picture and understanding of the situation of the fishery industry in Russia. Russian producers in their turn learned more about the latest developments on the European and American market.
The idea to launch the Russian Pollock Fishery Improvement Partnership first appeared at the Fishery Congress in autumn 2007 during negotiations between the representatives of Russian leading Pollock producer BAMR-ROLIZ Group of Companies based in Vladivostok and the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Jim Cannon.
Later that year the main principles, directions of further work were worked out together with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership as well as the list of Members of the Improvement Partnership was set.
MSC
According to the recent release published by MSC, the Russian Pollock Association has entered the full assessment process for certification to the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) global standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. Members of the Russian Pollock Association will be assessed across two different fisheries: the Western Bering Sea pollock fishery and the Sea of Okhotsk pollock fishery.
MSC runs a widely recognized international certification and eco-labeling program for sustainability in wild-capture fisheries. In accordance with the MSC standard, the assessment will evaluate the status of the Russian pollock stock (Theragra chalcogramma, also known as walleye pollock); the impacts that the fisheries have on the marine ecosystem; and the management system overseeing the fishery.
"We are proud that the Russian Pollock Association is one of the first Russian fisheries to enter assessment for certification to the MSC standard," said German Zverev, president of the Russian Pollock Association." We pay careful attention to conserving the pollock stock as a key sea resource in the Russian Far-East seas and to preserving the eco-system of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. Meeting the MSC standard is an excellent way to demonstrate seafood sustainability to consumers around the world, and for this reason we have chosen to aim for MSC certification."
Pollock Association
The Russian Pollock Association is a non-profit organization that assists in developing market relationships between its 29 member fishing companies and potential customers. Association members catch approximately 54 percent of the Western Bering Sea pollock quota and 59 percent of the total quota for the Sea of Okhotsk. These Russian Pollock Association quota holdings mean a total potential catch in 2008 of 700,000 tonnes of pollock across the fisheries being assessed.
Caught by mid-water trawl, Russian pollock is used for a number of seafood products around the world, including pollock roe, which is principally exported to the Japanese and Southeast Asian markets. Pollock fillets from these two fisheries supply Russian, Asian and European markets. Pollock surimi paste is also produced for domestic Russian use and is exported internationally.
According to MSC, independent third-party certifier TAVEL Certification Inc. will conduct both assessments concurrently and estimates that they will take 24 to 30 months to complete. As with all assessments against the MSC standard, external stakeholders will be asked to provide comments throughout the assessment process to ensure that all relevant knowledge about the fishery is taken into account.
The largest whitefish buyers are especially interested in getting the Russian pollock certified for the MSC eco-label in order secure continuous supply of eco-label products from a larger number oа sources. The thing is, the drastic reduction of pollock TAC on Alaska has resulted into a certain shortage of eco-labelled pollock. In this situation, the global buyers have had to rely to a greater extent on the supplies from the Russian Far East fishery which is not certified yet.
In these circumstances, according to https://www.fishnet.ru/ (http://www.fishnet-russia.com/), the demand for pollock blocks of Russian origin exceeds the supply and the products go to highest bidders.
Russian Cod from Murmansk
Meanwhile, in Murmansk-lead North basin the Russian cod, haddock and saithe fisheries have not yet decided on MSC certification and no similar partnership has been formed yet. In contrast, the Norwegian producers of these popular whitefish have already entered into the procedure of getting MSC eco-label.