Marine Stewardship Council
Recertifies Sablefish, Halibut
The Marine Stewardship Council on Aug. 9 recertified the North Pacific fixed gear sablefish fishery as sustainable and extended the certification to the Northern Southeast Inside’s sablefish fishery for the first time.
The confirmation is in accordance to the MSC’s guidelines.
“This recertification rightly acknowledges the hard work of Alaska fixed gear fishermen and fishery managers to maintain healthy fisheries in balance with marine ecosystems,” said Bob Alverson, director of Fishing Vessel Owners Association.
The client for MSC halibut and sablefish is “Eat on the Wild Side,” a non-profit of the FVOA and Deep Sea Fishermen’s Union.
“MSC certification requires continued improvement in best fishing and management practices and our sablefish fisheries met all identified criteria,” Alverson said.
The Marine Stewardship Council uses its ecolabel and fishery certification program to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans by recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood, and working to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC first certified the North Pacific fixed gear sablefish fisheries on April 18, 2006.
“The addition of the NSEI sablefish fishery to the MSC certification makes solid sense both ecologically and from a marketing perspective,” said Linda Behnken of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association. “Sablefish are highly migratory, with significant mixing between open ocean and ‘inside’ stocks. The only difference is that one stock is carefully managed under the federal system and one even more conservatively by the State of Alaska-both merit the MSC label and the label’s marketing benefits.”
Seafood Producers Cooperative, a processing and marketing cooperative in Sitka, requested FVOA and ALFA work with the MSC to expand sablefish certification to include the Northern Southeast Inside fishery. SPC provided essential information required during the certification review, facilitating the successful outcome of the process.
“This was a strong team effort by FVOA, DSFU, ALFA and SPC to secure appropriate MSC marketing benefits for our fixed gear members and the fleet generally,” said Jeff Reynolds, general manager of SPC. “The domestic demand for sablefish, which is an exceptional deep water fish, is growing and customers deserve to know that the fixed gear fishery is sustainably managed throughout Alaska. The MSC label provides that level of confidence both in the U.S. and overseas.”
For information contact Bob Alverson, FVOA, roberta@fvoa.org, (206) 283-7735; Linda Behnken, ALFA, alfafishak@gmail.com, 738-3615; Becky Martello, SPC, BMartello@spcsales.com, 738-2605; or Jim Johnson, DSFU, jj.deepseafishermensunion@gmail.com, (206) 783-2922.
SJ Museum Sets
Closures this Week
The Sheldon Jackson Museum will be closed on Tuesday, Aug. 24.
In addition, it will close 11 a.m. to noon Aug. 25-28 due to low staffing.
General Admission is $9; and $8 for seniors. Visitors 18 and younger, Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum, and those with passes are admitted free. Assistance is available for visitors who have special needs.
Contact visitor services at 747-8981 with any questions.
Ideas Sought for
Health Summit
At the citizen-centered virtual planning day Sept. 23, two health-related initiatives will be chosen as the 2021-2022 Health Summit goals.
Each new goal receives an award of $2,000 and additional support. Past goals have included The Cloud teen center, the Fish to Schools program, Sitka Farmers Market, the Choose Respect mural project, bike/walk friendly community programming, combating meth, Sitka Kitch, the Hames Center, downtown revitalization efforts, becoming a trauma informed community, CO2 emissions reduction, and construction of the ADA accessible Sitka Community Playground.
All residents can provide suggestions, in three sentences or less, to the question ‘‘What inspiring health initiative deserves Sitka’s attention in the next 365 days?’’
Entries must be submitted by noon, Sept. 14, to www.sitkahealthsummit.org or put in the submission boxes at the Hames Center, Sitka Public Library, UAS-Sitka Campus or WildFlour Cafe and Bakery.
Sitkan Named
To ASMI Board
Rich Riggs has been named to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Riggs’ term runs to July 1, 2024.
Dunleavy last week announced appointments of 28 Alaskans to various state and federal boards and commissions.
Quilting Class
Rescheduled
Because of a family emergency, the Ocean Wave Quilters’ virtual quilting class scheduled for Aug. 28 has been moved to Sept. 4.
‘‘We realize part of the fun of attending a class is creating a project together,’’ OWQ said. ‘‘Consider asking a friend in your ‘bubble’ to join you in your home.’’
Class size is limited. Enrollment is open at Abby’s Reflection and QuiltWorks.
The Sept. 4 “Dresden Houses” quilt class will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. via Zoom. The link will be emailed to attendees. Cost is $30 for OWQ members and $40 for non-members. Refunds for the difference in cost will be provided to those who had already registered, the quilt group said.
