Marine Stewardship Council officials have suspended their certification of Pacific cod stocks in the Gulf of Alaska region effective April 5 due to depressed stocks in the Gulf caused by a marine heat wave.
Announcement of the forthcoming suspension was released on Friday, March 6, in Seattle by MRAG Americas, a private consulting and auditing firm with headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida, whose clients range from government entities, including NOAA Fisheries, to many in the fishing industry itself. Any Pacific cod harvested from the Gulf between Jan. 1 and April 5 is still confirmed as extremely well managed, but after April 5, until the suspension is lifted, no cod harvested commercially in the Gulf may be sold as MSC certified as coming from a sustainable fishery, MRAG Americas said.
According to MRAG Americas, “this suspension is due specifically to depressed stocks of Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska below the B20 percent limit, or 20 percent of the unfished biomass.
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