Another endorsement for Begich

The Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association likes U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, for another term. Read the endorsement here.

The MSC merry-go-round

Back in November, the London-based Marine Stewardship Council said Alaska salmon had earned recertification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery (except for Prince William Sound).

The MSC "client" securing the recertification was the Purse Seine Vessel Owners' Association, a Seattle-based fishing group.

PSVOA, you'll recall, stepped in after most of Alaska's major salmon processors in 2012 decided to pull out of the MSC program.

Well, now the matter has taken yet another twist.

A notice posted May 6 on the MSC website said PSVOA "has withdrawn as the MSC client for this fishery."

The new client, the notice said, is the Alaska Salmon Processors Association.

Never heard of it, you say?

That's because it's very new. State records show the Alaska Salmon Processors Association is a nonprofit corporation formed on April 10.

Four persons are listed as officers in the association. All are connected with processors who apparently see some market value in continuing with the MSC ecolabel.

Here's a rundown of the four officers:

Robert Zuanich, Sitka, president
Affiliated with Silver Bay Seafoods LLC

Cassandra Squibb, Anchorage, vice president
Affiliated with Copper River Seafoods Inc.

Joe Kelso, Seattle, secretary
Affiliated with Ekuk Fisheries LLC

Norman Kilborn, Kodiak, treasurer
Affiliated with International Seafoods of Alaska Inc.

A salmon summit in Seattle

Bye-bye MSC bluefish? Deckboss photo

We've noted from time to time how those MSC folks are having a hard time hanging onto Alaska salmon.

MSC is the Marine Stewardship Council, a London-based certifier of sustainable fisheries.

The MSC made quite a splash with Alaska salmon back in 2000, when the fishery first won the organization's blue eco-label.

MSC-blessed seafood is said to have an advantage in the global marketplace.

For a long while, Alaska and the MSC seemed to be happy partners.

In recent years, however, many players in the Alaska seafood industry have become disenchanted with the MSC, for a variety of reasons.

This also goes for state officials, who apparently aren't too enthused about current efforts to keep MSC certification going.

A Seattle-based fishing group, the Purse Seine Vessel Owners' Association, is seeking renewal of the MSC label on behalf of seven Alaska salmon processors led by Sitka-based Silver Bay Seafoods.

Achieving this recertification necessarily would involve a lot of work for the state, specifically the Department of Fish and Game.

But apparently the department isn't much interested in playing along.

Nor is the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, which has become something of an MSC rival in pursuing an alternative certification scheme for Alaska salmon and other seafood.

Now, here's the fun part.

It seems that two top state officials will meet tomorrow with PSVOA to discuss "concerns" about the MSC certification program. Here's a letter, co-signed by Commerce Commissioner Susan Bell and Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell, seeking out the meeting.

Deckboss has seen some additional correspondence elaborating on the state's position.

"Our concerns with the MSC process have to do with governance and policy, loss of market access, and brand erosion," Bell wrote in a Jan. 3 email to Bob Kehoe, PSVOA executive director.

Interestingly, this summit on Alaska salmon won't be held in Juneau or Anchorage, but in Seattle. The two commissioners are traveling there personally.

Should be a pleasant meeting, no?