Editors’s View: What’s Changed Between Alaska and the MSC: A Whole World
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Editor’s View] by John Sackton April 16, 2015
We were struck by the childish tone of one of the critics of Alaska’s major salmon producers returning to the MSC, after they had refused to participate in the client group for two years.
Our colleague John Fiorello at Intrafish can’t seem to get past Kindergarten. He writes a ‘knock knock’ column about Alaska as if describing a playground fight.
It’s unfortunate because the world of certification and the branding of Alaska salmon has changed substantially since 2012, when Alaska Salmon Producers left the MSC. It’s clear Fiorello has no understanding of these changes.
Let’s look at what has changed, and a little of the history.
In 2012, Alaska salmon producers withdrew from the MSC because they felt alignment with the MSC had become destructive to the Alaska Salmon Brand. Yet the MSC had started based on Alaska fisheries as its model.
Alaska Salmon, New Zealand Hoki, and Australian Rock lobster were the first three major commercial fisheries ever certified by the MSC, beginning in the year 2000.
Five years later, as the MSC began to tout its commercial labeling successes, they had 195 SKU’s on sale with the MSC logo, of which the vast majority were based on Alaska salmon....
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