Ocean Wise Are Setting The Example

2024, Alaskas Dirty Secret, Fisheries, Sustainable Fisheries

05. 29. 2024

New recommendations from Ocean Wise recognize sustainable B.C. salmon fisheries

Stop The Greenwashing of Alaska’s Unsustainable Interception Fisheries.

Representatives from Watershed Watch Salmon Society and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust are available to comment on the new and novel sustainability standard for Pacific salmon announced by the Ocean Wise sustainable seafood program, and the first B.C. salmon fisheries to receive Ocean Wise endorsement using this new standard.

Consumers want to buy sustainably caught seafood but for too long have been hampered by eco-labels that greenwash harmful industrial fisheries and exclude smaller-scale sustainable fisheries. This has especially been the case for Pacific salmon, where community-led Indigenous fisheries in British Columbia have been passed over by major ecolabels, while unsustainable interception fisheries in Alaska have enjoyed long-standing approval.

Trust In The Labels

The new rapid assessment standard announced by Ocean Wise is a major step forward in allowing people to make the responsible choices they want to at their local grocery stores and restaurants. Chefs and shop-owners in B.C. will now be able to provide their customers locally-caught, Ocean Wise-certified salmon from our province’s most sustainable fisheries.

Watershed Watch was pleased to contribute expertise in fisheries management as part of the diverse stakeholder group providing feedback as Ocean Wise charted this new course.

SkeenaWild and Raincoast Conservation Foundation, along with Watershed Watch, recently launched an official objection to the Marine Stewardship Council—the world’s premier seafood ecolabel—over their proposed recertification of Alaskan salmon fisheries.

“Ocean Wise has set themselves apart from the other major seafood eco-labels. Not only are they giving long-overdue recognition to the very best salmon fisheries, they have also found a way to rapidly assess these and other fisheries on an ongoing basis. This will ensure consumers have recommendations that are more reliable and more up to date than what has been on offer so far.” – Aaron Hill, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society

“Ocean Wise has raised the bar for sustainable seafood validation. We hope the other major ecolabels out there take note and follow their lead.” – Greg Knox, Executive Director, SkeenaWild Conservation Trust

“The pivot to Rapid Assessment by OceanWise reflects the world we see around us. It is now incumbent on retailers to rise to the challenge and purchase from the more nimble, local, and responsive fisheries who are adapting to the ebbs and flows in abundance of today’s fisheries.” – David Mills, Fisheries Advisor, Watershed Watch Salmon Society.