Another MSC objection

We previously reported how the Alaska salmon fishery is up for Marine Stewardship Council recertification.

Now, another organization is objecting.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which describes itself as the UK's largest nature conservation charity, is raising concerns about possibly significant gillnet bycatch of seabirds, particularly the marbled murrelet.

Are you catching seabirds?

A recent press release from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership says an independent audit identified "high potential bycatch risks" in fisheries supplying seafood to UK retailing giant Tesco.

Among the flagged fisheries:

Alaskan salmon set/drift gillnet fisheries pose a significant risk to seabirds.

"Tesco is ... working with suppliers who use gillnets to investigate their potential removal and where removal is currently unfeasible, introduce mitigation measures into those fisheries as soon as possible," the press release says.

This has Deckboss wondering: Does Alaska salmon gillnetting really have a seabird bycatch problem?

Is industry facing a storm over seabird bycatch?

Here's a letter from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council raising concerns that a proposed regulatory change could see fisheries "put at risk of being in violation."