Juneau, Alaska – Following a twelve month fishery assessment period, a Global Trust Certification Committee met on April 16th 2012 and formally certified that the management system of the U.S. Alaska King and Snow Crab Bering Sea Commercial Fisheries** have met the FAO-Based Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Standard. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) submitted the application.
Ray Riutta, Executive Director of ASMI states, “We are pleased that we can offer our industry and our customers a credible certification of Alaska’s crab fisheries. This certification is a first as it is the only fishery management certification in the crab sector with formal and official IS0 65 accreditation. The 3rd party certification will effectively communicate to all interested parties that the Alaska crab fishery is responsibly managed for sustainable use.”
Peter Marshall, CEO Global Trust Certifications adds, “Global Trust would like to congratulate the members of the fishery and those involved in the fishery management system that support it. The Certification Committee unanimously agreed with the Assessment Team’s findings that the applicant Alaska crab fisheries are responsibly managed by effective management institutions using robust fishery management plans based on good science.”
Peter Marshall continues “As part of the accredited certification the Alaska crab fishery receives a cost effective and credible certification for Responsible Fisheries Management, a communication platform to protect and maintain the provenance of the Alaska origin and a confidence that the goal posts are not going to change at the will of external parties to the fishery.”
A Certification Summary Report for the fishery assessment is available at http://sustainability.alaskaseafood.org/crab-certification.
Alaska crab joins Alaska’s salmon, halibut, black cod/sablefish and pollock fisheries in having been certified by the independent organization Global Trust in accordance with the FAO-Based Model for Responsible Fisheries Management. Alaska’s cod fishery is currently undergoing assessment. For more information about Alaska’s responsible fisheries management and certification go to http://www.alaskaseafood.org.
**[Bristol Bay Red King Crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus), Eastern Bering Sea Snow Crab (Chionoecetes opilio) and St. Matthew Island Blue King Crab (Paralithodes platypus)] legally employing pot gear within Alaska jurisdiction (200 nautical miles EEZ) and subjected to a federal [National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)/North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC)] and state [Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) & Board of Fisheries (BOF)] joint management regime.
Source: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute