Wild Alaska Salmon Earns New Responsible Fisheries Management Certification

°          Alaska Salmon is the first of Alaska's major commercial fisheries to be awarded the independent, third-party Responsible Fisheries Management Certification, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/ with reference to ASMI.

°          This certification is based on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the FAO Guidelines for Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries.

°          The certification includes all Pacific salmon species caught in Alaska: king, sockeye, coho, keta, and pink.

°          To download a copy of the Alaska Salmon Responsible Fisheries Management Certification Summary please visit: http://sustainability.alaskaseafood.org/ salmon-certification

°          The Full Assessment and Certification Report (250 pages) will be available on April 1, 2011 at  http://sustainability.alaskaseafood.org/ salmon-certification and http://www.gtcert.com/

Heading to this year's Boston International Seafood Show? Learn more about the certification at the Alaska FAO-Based Fishery Certification Seminar on March 21st, 10am - noon, in room #252B in the Convention Center at the show. This important seminar will feature special guest speaker Dr. Grimur Valdimarsson (formerly Director of Fish Products and Industry at the FAO).  RSVP here to attend.

Be sure to check our Certification Information section for continuing updates monitoring the progress of the certification of Alaska's other major commercial fisheries (Halibut, Black Cod, King and Snow Crab, and Alaska Pollock), which are currently in progress.

Also, refer to the Sustainability News section for relevant seafood industry news articles and fisheries management announcements from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the International Pacific Halibut Commission, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

As the certification of Alaska's fisheries progresses, we will continue to provide email updates such as this. We welcome any feedback or questions you may have during this time, and we hope that you find these updates helpful. Please send any inquiries to info@alaskaseafood.org .