MSC Fails to Back its Standard in Weak Response to Silver Bay Refusal to Share Salmon Certificate The MSC has ordered the Alaska Seafood Processors Association (ASPA) client group and the ten salmon processors seeking reentry into the MSC into mediation so an agreement can be hashed out to get the processors back into MSC compliance through the ASPA’s salmon certificate. The MSC’s mediation order is in response to the ASPA’s denial to allow the processor group back into the MSC through its group. “The MSC wishes to maximize the use of existing certificates by eligible companies, and minimize the number of overlapping certificates,” the MSC said in a statement. However John Sackton writes that this was a weak response by the MSC. Sackton said the MSC has that failed to back its own standard and has opened up the possibility of “a rogue client to hijack the publicly supported Alaska Fishery for private gain.” In the first week of the eight-week Copper River red run, a total of 56,000 sockeye, 4200 chinook, and 1,700 chum were landed by Cordova’s gillnet fleet. Overall, total escapements have been higher with harvests lower than ADF&G predictions according to Peggy Parker. Meanwhile, the Thai Shrimp Associated says Thailand’s shrimp production could improve 20 percent over 2014 levels and reach 300,000 tons this year. The Association said the projection is dependent on how the industry manages instances of EMS that are still popping up in operations. Clearwater and its partner company Glaciar Pesquera have added a state-of-the-art factory vessel to their Argentine scallop fleet. The Capesante will replace one of two existing vessels. "The Capasante's industry-leading innovative harvesting and processing technology supports our commitment to delivering the highest quality wild-caught seafood to our customers around the world,” said Clearwater’s CEO Ian Smith. Finally, a Customs strike has broken out in Chile that now threatens the country’s fresh salmon exports. "We are very concerned about the detention, since we cannot meet our sales commitments to different markets,” said SalmonChile President Felipe Sandoval. No timetable has been set for how long the work stoppage will last.