SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton — May 8, 2015 — Alaska’s smaller salmon producers are facing a critical issue, as MSC’s failure to address discrimination by the existing Silver Bay Client Group threatens to prevent many Western Alaska and village based small fisheries from selling MSC certified salmon into European markets this year.
At this time the ten companies, including such smaller producers as Kwik’Pak from Emmonak, Yukon Gold, and Triad Fisheries, are still not being offered a path to join the existing client group.
At the time of their application over a month ago, the MSC website specified that the client “will share the certification with eligible salmon fishermen, seafood processing companies and other qualified individuals or entities, subject to their consenting to a cost-sharing mechanism for the expenses associated with obtaining and maintaining the MSC certification.”
To remove any obstacles related to cost sharing, the ten companies seeking to join the client group have offered to pay 100% of the actual costs of certification, including retroactive costs back to 2012 when the assessment documents were prepared, and covering the assessment program costs for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
In prior cases where addtional companies have had problems joining MSC client groups such as in Newfoundland shrimp and Maine Lobster, the arguments were over cost sharing, and how much of the sunk costs of the original users the new clients would pay. But by offering to pay 100% of the sunk costs of the current Alaska Salmon certification, any discussion of cost sharing formulas is moot.
Stefanie Moreland, speaking for the group, said the offer includes “the full cost of the assessment and annual audits incurred to-date by PSVOA and ASPA as certificate holders. The offer includes administrative expenses and would be contingent upon the client group extending the certificate to any other eligible fishery participants.”
“This approach is intended to expedite negotiations since a fight over equitable distribution of costs is not necessary if new entrants are willing to absorb 100 percent.”
Moving forward, the group would expect an equitable distribution of future costs among all users.
At this point, the group has tried to comply with every requirement the MSC has documented, so further delay would seem to show MSC unwillingness to stand behind its public commitments, including a committment to follow FAO Ecolabel Guidelines regarding non-discimination.
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.