Just over a month after sending an open letter criticizing Alaska's Senators, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Association and Alaska-based critics, who she said were acting on misinformation, Kerry Coughlin, the America's Director of the Marine Stewardship Council resigned from her position it was announced on Friday.
Coughlin issued her lengthy letter speaking out against Alaska critics accusing them of bias after her exclusion from a hearing by Alaska's Senators that discussed the need of third-party certification programs in the Alaska fisheries. During that time, after the National Park Service pointed to their guidelines calling for fish that they purchase to be certified by MSC, Alaska's Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced legislation prohibiting government agencies from requiring seafood to be certified by any third party.
The controversy began when the Alaska Seafood Marketing Association parted ways with MSC last year and set out to put in place its own certification process, leaving only the Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association with MSC.
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