September 4, 2013 — A dispute with Wal-Mart over Alaska salmon sparked a protest Wednesday by fishermen outside the South Anchorage store, and on Thursday a contingent of state and seafood marketing officials will argue in Arkansas to keep Alaska salmon in the retail giant’s supercenters.
The immediate issue is whether Wal-Mart will accept a new way of certifying that the harvest of Alaska salmon is sustainable. If Wal-Mart rejects the program, the reputation of Alaska seafood as quality, eco-friendly food could take a hit.
On Thursday, Gov. Sean Parnell aide Stefanie Moreland, state commerce Commissioner Susan Bell, state commercial fisheries director Jeff Regnart, and three top officials with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute are meeting with Wal-Mart executives at the company headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. Aides to both of Alaska's U.S. senators, Mark Begich, and Lisa Murkowski, are teleconferencing in. Parnell, Begich and Murkowski all have pressed Wal-Mart to accept Alaska salmon as a well-managed resource. The Alaska Constitution requires fish be managed under the "sustained yield principle."
"There's tremendous demand for high quality, wild Alaska salmon," said Tyson Fick, communications director for the state-supported seafood marketing institute. "We absolutely would like to get this behind us. I think we are on the path of getting there."
Wal-Mart says it wants a solution.
"Let's be honest. I don't think Wal-Mart wants demonstrators in front of supercenters. I don't think we want fisherman upset about what is going on or in the dark about what our policy is or how we're going to move forward," said Chris Schraeder, Wal-Mart senior manager for sustainability communications. "As much as it's in Alaska's interest to find a resolution to this quickly, it's in Wal-Mart's interest to find a resolution to this quickly."
Wal-Mart won't say how much Alaska salmon it sells, or how much of its seafood comes from Alaska. But it's obviously an important line for the world's biggest retailer. Seafood is the primary protein source for 3 billion people, Wal-Mart's executive vice president for food, Jack Sinclair, wrote on an Aug. 8 blog post addressing the Alaska controversy.
"Our sustainable seafood commitment seems to have made waves recently in Alaska, where the state is proposing an alternative standard for sustainable fisheries management," his blog post began. "It's generated a lively debate on how to best ensure sustainable seafood for our customers today and for generations to come."
Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News